Ecstacy of Gold
by BoxerMan
Summary: AU Season 2. Hell on Earth has come. Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings. Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams.
1. Enter Sandman 1

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Special thanks to Ed Scott for editing and betaing this part. And send me some reviews people, God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N2: Well, this is something I've been thinking about for a while.  
  
Crossovers: None for now. Maybe eventually, down the line. And this is my first non-crossover fic, so I'm a little nervous about it.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
//////////////////////  
  
Xander entered his room through the window. They had spent all night looking for Buffy and Angel after they went looking for the Judge. He hadn't bothered to really call home for the 'round robin.' They'd just be mad that he'd come in late and interrupt their drunken stupor. With great ease and after hours of practice Xander slid the window back down until he heard the soft click.  
  
He gently walked over to the door and made sure that it was locked and no one had tried to come in while he wasn't there. He had various 'slayage' tools lying around the room, and his dad might be lucid enough to wonder why his son had a crossbow and a sword on top of his dresser. After completing his nightly checklist, he turned to the true object of his affections.  
  
He mused. "Ahh, bed sweet bed."  
  
He stood on his toes and fell onto the mattress. He pet it as professed his undying love. "You love me don't you? I'll always love you, you soft little thing you."  
  
He pulled the comforter over his body and put the pillow over his head, just incase there were any 'noises' coming from down the hall. He turned his head so he could see out the side. Outside the window he looked at the moon for a minute. Fear for Buffy crossed his mind, and as much as he hated it, he just had to hope that Angel would keep her safe. He closed his eyes and let sleep take hold.  
  
////////////////////////  
  
He was in a black room. Infront of him there was a table and two chairs.  
  
"Sit."  
  
He turned around to see a tall man with a beard. "Huh."  
  
The figure walked around him and looked him up and down. Xander looked at the man then tried to see what he was looking at. "Hey, um, what are you doing?"  
  
The man looked up at Xander before walking around to the other side of the table. "Sit."  
  
They two of them both sat down on opposite sides of the table. The man spoke first. "Who are you?"  
  
Xander looked quizzically at the man. "Xander Harris?"  
  
The man shook his head. "No, Who are you?"  
  
"Alexander Harris?"  
  
The man shook his head again. "No, Who are you?"  
  
Xander sighed. "Fine, Alexander Lavelle Harris?"  
  
The man smiled. "For some reason I knew you were going to say that."  
  
Xander was very confused. "Huh?"  
  
The man shook his head and continued. "You are nothing."  
  
"If I wanted a pep talk, I would've talked to my parents. They at least spice it up with 'good for nothing's and 'bastard child's."  
  
The man smiled again as he got up and walked away. Xander shouted sarcastically. "Was it something I said?"  
  
A different voice came from behind him. "Oh don't worry about Hetfield, he's a great guy, but I think he likes the intros a little too much."  
  
He turned to face the new voice. "Who are you?"  
  
The man walked over with a grin and sat down opposite him. "Me? I'm nothing."  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
Xander woke with a start. His pulse raced and his bed was soaked through with sweat. 'What was that dream?' He strained to remember as much as he could, with only bits and pieces flashing through his mind. After a minute he gave up and walked over to the shower.  
  
He muttered to himself as he turned the water on. "At least I didn't wake up shouting 'YES DRILL SERGEANT!' this time. Those soldier dreams really fuck with my mornings."  
  
//////////////////////  
  
Xander walked into school a little late. With any luck he'd be able to avoid...  
  
"Harris, forgetting something?"  
  
...Snyder. He turned around to face the little troll. "Well good morning to you too, sir! You see I was just on my way to..."  
  
Snyder cut him off. "Detention, so you can rid the streets of your corrupting influence every afternoon for the next couple of weeks. How nice of you Harris!" He walked over and mashed a pink wad of paper into Xander's hand. "Two thirty sharp. Either you are in detention or you are _out_ of this school."  
  
Snyder turned and walked back towards his office. Xander waited until Snyder was barely within earshot before saying loudly, "If I'm not in the school, how can I have detention?"  
  
Snyder grimaced as he continued on his way. 'I should be so lucky to be eaten by rabid wolves,' He thought, 'Flutie probably smeared himself in barbeque sauce for them.'  
  
//////////////////  
  
After being outed by Willow for his hidden smooches with Cordelia, Xander decided to find the redhead and try to make things right. He walked aimlessly through the halls trying to avoid Snyder's wrath again. Finally he saw her walking through the lounge.  
  
He ran up behind her. "Will."  
  
She hugged her arms around herself and turned to face him. "Hey."  
  
Xander tried to offer a reassuring smile. "Where'd you go?"  
  
Willow tried to smile back, but looked at the floor. "Home."  
  
Xander put his hand under her chins and raised her eyes to his. "I'm glad you came back. We can't do this without you."  
  
Willow tried not to cry and put on her resolve face. "Let's get this straight. I don't understand it, I don't wanna understand it, you have gross emotional problems, and things are not okay between us. But what's happening right now is more important than that."  
  
Xander nodded. He could accept that for now. "Okay."  
  
Willow sighed. "So, have you found anything out about the Judge?"  
  
Xander shook his head. "Only the same things, 'no weapon forged.' and 'it took an army.'"  
  
Willow started to walk him back to the library. "Yeah, where's an army when you need one?"  
  
Xander stopped walking. "Whoa. Whoa! I...I think I'm having a thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a thought. Now I'm having a plan."  
  
The lights suddenly went out.  
  
"Now I'm having a wiggins."  
  
Willow looked around the deserted hallway. "What's going on?"  
  
Xander started to walk, pulling Willow. "We have to get to the library."  
  
Angel walked out from behind them. "Willow. Xander."  
  
They turned to look. Willow immediately started to walk closer to him, asking questions. "Thank God you're okay. Did you see Buffy?"  
  
Xander held onto her hand. Not allowing Willow to get any closer. "Xander what are you doing?"  
  
Angel smiled. "It's okay Xander, I think Buffy needs you for something. I need to talk to Willow for a second."  
  
Xander's hand started to grip tighter on Willow's hand while his jaw clenched. "Run." 


	2. Enter Sandman 2

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Special thanks to Ed Scott for editing and betaing.  
  
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
The man poured himself a glass of water. "Tonight was the first time the other side made a move. They captured one of our pieces and turned it against us. Although Buffy was the one that made a move, but I stopped trying to make sense of her actions a long time ago."  
  
The man took another glass and offered some water to him.  
  
"No thanks," Xander said, "I'm not thirsty."  
  
The man raised his eyebrows. "Oh you will be, trust me. Although it's not real water, and were technically not here, it still kinda helps you talk after a while."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You'll figure it out eventually. You'll remember bits and pieces now and then. Not really information. Mostly nuances, hints, direction, misdirection, I swear I don't understand how it all works. I only know what I can and can't tell you."  
  
Xander began to understand. "Prophecies?"  
  
The man shook his head. "Nope, this is a one time deal. That's why we have a lot to discuss. I lived this through and trust me, it all ended VERY badly. This is a battle that has been set in motion for centuries for a war that will last forever."  
  
"Then what are you saying?"  
  
The man smiled again. "Chaos."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////  
  
"Run."  
  
Willow looked at Xander. "What?"  
  
Xander pushed Willow away as Angel smirked. Xander kept his face on Angel but shouted at Willow. "RUN!!"  
  
Angelus realized that something had given him away and rushed Xander, knocking him over. He grabbed Willow by the wrist with one hand and by the throat with the other.  
  
Xander rolled back to his feet. "No! Don't do that!"  
  
Angelus held Willow between himself and Xander. "Oh I think I do that."  
  
Jenny Calendar appeared from the end of the hallway. "No! He's not Angel anymore."  
  
Angelus smiled at her and licked his fangs. "Wrong. I _am_ Angel." He tightened his grip on Willow.  
  
Xander felt a cold shiver come from the back of his head. "Oh, my God."  
  
Angelus looked at the boy. "Wrong department, but tell Buffy I got a message for her."  
  
Buffy ran from around the corner to see her love squeezing the life out of her best friend. "Why don't you give it to me yourself?"  
  
He smiled as he saw her come into view. "Well, it's not really the kind of message you tell. It sort of involves finding the bodies of all your friends and family on your doorstep."  
  
He tightened his grip on Willow even more as she lets out another pained yelp.  
  
Xander felt the shiver lessen and began to inch towards Jenny.  
  
Buffy inched towards him. "This can't be you."  
  
Angelus had a smirk on his face. "Gee, I thought we already covered that subject, but now I remember you ARE a natural blonde."  
  
"Angel, there must be some part of you inside that still remembers who you are."  
  
"Dream on, schoolgirl."  
  
With Angelus' back turned, Xander took the cross from Jenny and snuck up behind him.  
  
Angelus continued to taunt the blond slayer. "Your boyfriend is dead. You're all gonna join him."  
  
Buffy continued to slowly walk forward. "Leave Willow alone, and deal with me."  
  
"But she's so cute," Angelus took pinched her cheek, "and helpless. Really a turn-on."  
  
Xander shoved the cross into Angelus' face and jumped on his back. The shock forced him to drop Willow who ran behind Buffy for safety.  
  
"GET OFF ME BOY!"  
  
Xander held on for dear life. Kicking and punching whenever he could. "FUCK YOU!"  
  
Angelus rammed Xander into a locker, knocking him off. He ran to Buffy and whispered, "Things are about to get _very_ interesting."  
  
He kissed her, shoved her into the wall and backed out the door. Willow and Jenny went over and helped Xander up.  
  
Xander walked over to where Buffy was wanting. "Buffy, you okay?"  
  
Buffy just stared at the door.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Giles paced alongside the main library table. Xander stand off to the side while everyone else was talking.  
  
Giles took off his glasses. "And we're absolutely certain that, that Angel has reverted to his former self?"  
  
Willow sat at the table. "Giles, you wouldn't have believed him. He was so... He came here to kill us."  
  
Cordelia looked around. "What are we gonna do?"  
  
Giles finished cleaning his glasses and put them back on. "I'm leaning towards blind panic myself."  
  
Xander watched them talk back and forth. He wasn't sure what to do. All he had were split second flashes of words or phrases of a conversation that he was pretty sure didn't exist. He came out from his internal dialogue to hear Ms. Calendar ask Willow a question.  
  
"But you didn't know he had turned bad?"  
  
Willow looked at Xander and Jenny. "No, How did you?"  
  
Jenny became nervous. "What?"  
  
"Well, you knew. You both told me to get away from him."  
  
Jenny lied. "Well, I saw his face."  
  
They both looked to Xander. He deadpanned. "What? I never liked the guy."  
  
Giles was in his own conversation. "Well, something set it off. Some, some, uh, event must've triggered his transformation. Well, if anyone would know, Buffy, it-it should be you."  
  
Buffy replied quietly. "I don't."  
  
Giles continued. "Well, did anything happen last night that, that might..."  
  
Buffy tried to hold the tears back as she got up from the table. "Giles, please, I can't."  
  
Giles didn't know what he had said, but tried to stop her. "Buffy, I'm sorry, but we can't afford to... Buffy!"  
  
//////////////////  
  
Cordelia slammed her book shut. "This is great. There's an unkillable demon in town, Angel's joined his team, and the Slayer is a basket case... I'd say we've hit bottom."  
  
Xander walked towards her, making sure no one could hear her. After Buffy left, they each had split up to do research. "I have a plan."  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Oh, great, here's a lower place."  
  
Xander decided to stick with the idea he had earlier. "I think that I know how to deal with this Judge guy."  
  
He came around the table and sat across from Cordelia.  
  
She leaned over and whispered, "Care to let me in on the plan I'm a part of?"  
  
"No."  
  
Cordelia stood up with her hands on her hips, giving Xander the best glare she could. "Why not?"  
  
Xander pushed her back into her seat and quickly made sure no one was noticing them. "Because if I tell you, then you won't do it. Just meet me at my house in half an hour. And wear something trashy..." Xander looked Cordelia up and down with a smirk, "...er." 


	3. Enter Sandman 3

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Special thanks to Ed Scott for editing and betaing. Also, if anyone's in the National Guard, don't take offense. The National Guard has an important part to play in the nations defense. Besides, in cannon, they stole it from a National Guard Armory.  
  
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews. And I wasn't planning on releasing this part till later in the week. See? Good things happen when I get lots of nice reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat still. "What do you mean? I can't fight, I'm not a hero."  
  
The man nodded. "Exactly."  
  
Xander shook his head. "Okay, explain it to me again."  
  
The man leaned back in his seat and gave Xander a quick smile. "I didn't think that you would be this accepting."  
  
Xander rolled his eyes. "And I didn't think that I would dream of a black room with a table, chairs and a guy that wont give me a strait answer."  
  
The man chucked before saying. "Just call me 'cryptic guy.'"  
  
Xander put his forehead on the table. "This is hell. I am dead and this is my personal hell. Sitting at a table with a guy that constantly makes fun of me and leads me around while trying to explain things to me. Its like Giles and Cordy had a baby."  
  
Xander stopped and shivered in his seat.  
  
He looked back across at the man who was giving him a slight glare. "Moving on from...being disturbing..."  
  
Xander nodded. "Yes, moving on."  
  
The man took a drink from his water. "The two sides are playing each other and have been for years. It doesn't matter who is on what side. Everyone dies. There are small skirmishes and huge battles, Armageddon and simple accidents, every player for every side will go down, it doesn't matter when or how. And you'll know what I mean."  
  
Xander cut him off and glared. "I already know what you mean."  
  
The man nodded his head. "Jesse."  
  
Xander kept his glare as he nodded. "Jesse."  
  
"You can't save everyone."  
  
"Then why are you here?"  
  
The man looked solemn for a minute. "Because there's no one left. Like I said, everyone dies. But just because you cant save everyone doesn't mean you shouldn't try. You CAN save someone. Its too late for me, now...Its not to late for you."  
  
He stopped for a second and looked at Xander before continuing, "...and hopefully, its not to late for them."  
  
//////////////////////  
  
Cordelia's car pulled up alongside the Sunnydale National Guard Reserve Armory. Xander and Cordelia got out of the car. Xander led her to an unguarded part in the chain link fence behind a building.  
  
Xander muttered to himself as he counted off seconds on his watch. "The security here really is a joke. I should, uh, report it. Maybe they pay more attention than the Sunnydale Police." He looks around for a second before starting to cut through the fence. "I hope not."  
  
Cordelia stood behind him keeping watch. "Who am I supposed to be again?"  
  
Xander replied with a smirk as he made quick work of the fence and pulled her through. "You're supposed to be a horny little girl." He turned and waggled his eyebrows. "I didn't think it would be that much of a stretch for you, think you can handle it?"  
  
Cordelia slapped him on the arm. "Asshole." They snuck along behind the building. She whispered. "You couldn't _handle_ me geek-boy."  
  
Xander shushed her before whispering back. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know."  
  
Xander looked around the corner of the building. A few soldiers were on the other side of the complex on patrol. Xander smiled. He had timed it so they would be on the other side for the entire time that they would be there. He stepped over to the side door of the building and reached for the doorknob.  
  
A loud voice interrupted him. "Halt! Arms where I can see them!"  
  
Xander shot up his arms and elbowed Cordelia so she did the same. The soldier approached them. "Identify yourself right the hell now."  
  
Xander spoke quickly. "Uh... Private Harris with the, uh... 33rd."  
  
The soldier shook his head and took aim. "Sorry numbnuts, the 33rd are on maneuvers. Try again."  
  
Xander nodded and replied as if it was obvious. "No shit, I'm on leave...from them."  
  
Cordelia groaned. 'Smooth move Harris.'  
  
The soldier was unfazed. "You always spend your leave snooping around the armory?" He then took notice of Cordelia who was hiding behind Xander. "And who is she?"  
  
Cordelia waved. "Hi. I'm not a soldier." She leaned over to Xander and whispered, "Right?"  
  
Xander had to force himself not to let the soldier shoot her. He approached the guard with his hands still up. "Look Private...Hammet, I just want to show her around a little, give her the tour. Uh, you know what I'm saying."  
  
Hammet raised an eyebrow. "The tour?"  
  
Xander lied for all he was worth. "Well, you know the ladies. They like to see the big guns. Gets them all hot and bothered. Can you cut me some slack, gimme a blind eye?"  
  
The soldier eased up, but didn't give in. "And why should I?"  
  
Xander nodded. "Well, if you do, I won't tell Colonel Ulrich that your boots ain't regulation, your post wasn't covered," Xander quickly grabbed the soldier's M-16 and gave it back to him properly, "and you hold your gun like a pussy."  
  
Hammet was annoyed but satisfied. He took back the rifle. "You got 20 minutes, nimrod."  
  
Xander smiled. "I just need 3." He took a step and then turned back. "Uh, forget I said that last part."  
  
Inside Cordelia looked out the window in the door while Xander searched the room.  
  
She talked while making sure there was no one coming. "Okay, what was that? And who are you?"  
  
Xander replied without looking at her. "Remember Halloween, I got turned into a soldier and spent the night protecting your sorry butt?"  
  
Cordelia smiled for a second, but quickly caught it. "Uh, yeah."  
  
Xander didn't notice her hesitation. "Well, I still remember all of it. I know procedure, schedule, ordnance, access codes, everything. I know the layout for this base, I can field strip and put together an M-16 in 57 seconds. And the best part is, I know more dirty jokes than I ever did before."  
  
Cordelia pretended to be unfazed. "Well, I'm sort of impressed. But let's just find the thing and get out of here."  
  
"Don't worry. Do you remember that guy that stole the tank from a National Guard Armory and drove it around LA for a couple hours?"  
  
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"  
  
Xander smirked as he continued his search. "Guess where he got it?"  
  
Cordelia got bored at the door and hopped onto a crate to sit. "So, does looking at guns really make girls wanna have sex? That's scary."  
  
Xander replied while looking at several boxes. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
Cordelia tried to talk with a strait face. "Well, does looking at guns make you wanna have sex?"  
  
Xander stopped what he was doing, looked up and deadpanned. "I'm a red- blooded American seventeen year old male, looking at linoleum makes me wanna have sex."  
  
Cordelia stifled her laughter. 


	4. Enter Sandman 4

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Special thanks to Ed Scott for editing and betaing.  
  
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
"Wont this change everything?"  
  
"That's the point."  
  
Xander shifted in his seat. "I know, what I mean is, wouldn't you change the good also. I mean isn't there a balance type thing going on?"  
  
The man nodded. "Yes, and it is through that balance that you can save people."  
  
Xander sat up strait. He couldn't save Jesse, and he was damned if he wasn't going to save as many people as he could. "How?"  
  
"You have to let go."  
  
Xander sat back in his seat and raised an eyebrow. "Let go of what?"  
  
The man sat up strait. "Xander, you have to understand that you cant. No matter what you do people will die, a lot of people. I know. Not just innocent people on the street, people you don't know. The worst deaths are reserved for those on the front lines."  
  
Xander's face darkened. "I know what I was getting myself into."  
  
The man shook his head. "No you didn't. But that doesn't matter. You have to follow through. There is always a way. There are always options. You fight until you can't fight anymore. The temptation is there, to walk away. And there will become a point where that seems like a very good possibility."  
  
Xander stated very coldly, "So how will me doing anything change it?"  
  
The man looked down at the table. Xander had trouble looking at his face. It was just so...normal, so nondescript. The man raised his head back to face him. "Like I said, its about Chaos. Unknowns change the equation. You were already an unknown, you changed the codex, you brought Buffy back. That changed the plans that both sides had in store."  
  
Xander knew that he had, in fact, negated the Codex. Giles spent over an hour yelling at him and thanking him while trying to explain the ramifications of what he had done. "So, where exactly do I fit in, what do I do?"  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
Xander gave him a questioning look. "Then why are you here if you can't tell me?"  
  
"You have to realize that, simply by doing this, I have changed what I know has happened. While you wont remember any of this dream, except for bits and pieces, it's the same idea as the Codex. By changing one small specific thing, by changing you, all the other specifics could change. I just want to point you in the right direction, make sure that you remember feelings, hunches. Subtlety is key."  
  
Xander sat back in his seat. "Okay, sensei master guy, I'm in, guide me."  
  
//////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander rode in the backseat with his little boxes. He had wanted to take a Stinger or a missile launcher, but that A: might have been overkill and B: wouldn't fit in the car. Instead he opted for a M72 LAW and some HE and incendiary grenades. In the trunk he had a colt M4A1 and two MP5's with several clips apiece as well as a Desert Eagle and two Five-Sevens with numerous clips. He looked at his chauffer. "You good up there, Cor?"  
  
Cordelia looked in the rearview seeing a smiling Xander Harris playing with assorted explosives in her expensive car. "ALEXANDER LAVELLE HARRIS, YOU WILL STOP PLAYING WITH THOSE THINGS IN MY CAR THIS MINUTE."  
  
Xander carefully put the box back on the floor, put his seatbelt back on, and put his hands on his lap. "Better?"  
  
Cordelia smiled. "Much." She looked back to the road before asking another question. "Where are we dropping all of this off at?"  
  
Xander grinned back at her. "My house. I'll fix everything up there. Let everyone know what I'm planning, but I don't want to scare anyone with my big ole guns before they're ready, so could you pick me up an hour after you drop me off?"  
  
Cordelia had a small grin on her face as she continued driving. "Sure, just don't make a habit out of it."  
  
Xander found himself looking through the rearview mirror at Cordelia. He wasn't sure what it was that they had going on. He wasn't even sure if he wanted anything going on. He smiled to himself. Every now and then when she would glance through the mirror for quick glances at him. Well, to be honest he wasn't sure if she was looking at him, or checking rear traffic, but still, a guy can hope.  
  
"Xander?"  
  
He smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
"Don't stare at me like that, you're weirding me out."  
  
He saw in the reflection the briefest little smile on her face. "You got it Cor." He grinned to himself, and then went back to organizing his 'fun' boxes.  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander looked at the pile he had accumulated in the past three hours laying on his bed. The assault rifle and sub machine guns had been stripped, cleaned, fitted, and polished. He did the assault rifle and the first MP5 very carefully, not really trusting the memories and instincts to do the job right. After that he did the last one blindfolded, and timed himself. Fifty-nine seconds wasn't bad, but he could do better. He counted the ammunition. One armor-piercing clip for the m4, and four regular clips. The MP5's had about 12 clips of 30 rounds. The Desert Eagle had five clips, with seven bullets per clip. The Five-Sevens had six magazines with 20 rounds per clip. Xander stood for a minute looking at the arsenal, trying to add it all up, before giving up and outfitting himself for the night.  
  
He decided to tuck the Desert Eagle into the back of his blue jeans and slung an MP5 with a strap over his shoulder. The LAW was pre-assembled and more or less looked like a green tube with a handle and a strap. He slung it over his other shoulder. With an incendiary grenade and a HE grenade, the whole arsenal weighed about twelve pounds or so on him.  
  
He walked to the door and stepped outside. It was about eight or so in the evening. He had on a light green shirt with blue jeans and enough firepower to take down the local authorities. For some reason nobody really paid attention to the seventeen year old with the rocket launcher and submachine gun as he patiently waited five minutes for his ride.  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander watched as everyone's jaw dropped when he and Cordelia walked into the library. "Happy Birthday Buffy! Guess what?" He brought around his LAW and held it in two hands, "I brought presents!"  
  
After several seconds of silence, Xander looked at the LAW quizzically. "What, you don't like the color?" 


	5. Enter Sandman 5

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Special thanks to Ed Scott for editing and betaing.  
  
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
"Choice is Chaos."  
  
"I still don't get how that is a good thing."  
  
"It's not. But it can be. People choose to be good. People choose to be bad."  
  
"So of everything that you could tell me: lotto numbers, what Big Bad is gonna roll into town, how to make people like me, you tell me that choice is chaos?"  
  
"Its very simple and profound isn't it?"  
  
"No, it's annoying and doesn't tell me anything."  
  
The man sighed and sat back into his seat. He looked Xander strait in the eye. "If you could have anything, do anything, what would it be?"  
  
Xander didn't hesitate. "I want to make a difference."  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
The group rode in Oz's van. Truth be told, Xander didn't really like Oz very much. He wasn't a bad guy or anything. He just always felt a little protective of Willow. 'No one would ever be good enough for her,' he thought as he saw her riding in the passenger seat next to Oz, 'especially me.'  
  
An angry blonde slayer interrupted his internal monologue. "Xander, just what in the hell do you think you are doing?"  
  
Xander turned to face her. Her blonde hair hung on both sides of her face. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. He felt bad for her. Having to go up against someone you love has to be hard. But he couldn't help but look in her eyes and still see strength and beauty. He smiled kindly as he started to lie out his grand plan.  
  
"Well Buff, you see...this," he held up the LAW, "is the light M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon. It has a 66mm High Explosive Anti-Tank warhead. The base weight is about 5.2 pounds, or for the British in the van," he smiled at Giles, "2.3 kg."  
  
He sighed, noticing the blank stares he got from the occupants of the van. "It's a rocket launcher, I point it at something, it blows up."  
  
Giles nodded as he seemed to understand where the boy was going. "And you think this can defeat the Judge?"  
  
Xander smiled. "Yep, this baby aint forged and it sure as hell can pack a punch. I just need you to distract him and the vamps while I get a clear shot. The minimum range is about ten meters, but I sure as hell want to be farther away than that."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "No Xan, I need to do this. It's my responsibility."  
  
"Buffy, listen I could try to give you a crash course in the operation of a highly explosive device, but I don't think we got the time." He turned to the librarian. "Giles, you okay with my plan?"  
  
Giles sat still for a minute before slowly nodding his head. "As much as it scares me to say, I can't think of any better."  
  
Xander smirked. "Thanks for the support G-man."  
  
Giles steadied himself as the van hit a pothole. "Please don't call me that."  
  
"You got it G-dawg."  
  
Giles' moaning was interrupted by Willow. "Do we have an idea on where they would go?"  
  
Buffy exhaled. "I don't know, uh... somewhere crowded, I guess. I mean, the Judge needs to kill people, a lot of them, right?"  
  
Xander looked up. "The Bronze?"  
  
Oz turned around but kept his eyes on the road. "It's closed tonight."  
  
Cordelia spoke. "There's not a lot of choices in Sunnydale. It's not like people are gonna line up to get massacred."  
  
Oz looked pensive. "Uh, guys? If I were gonna line up, I know where I'd go."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia was getting frantic. "How could they attack the MALL? I mean, hello? There isn't any other decent shopping outlet in Sunnydale."  
  
The rest of the gang continued to ignore her as they walked into the Sunnydale Mall food court.  
  
Xander turned to face the group. "Everybody keep back. Damage control only. Buffy, I need you to distract them while I get into position. Be sure to keep at least ten yards away from him. Everyone else, take out any lesser vamps if you can. Leave big blue to me."  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
The Judge, as well as Angelus and Drusilla, walked down the staircase. People walked past them without even stopping to look at the bright blue monster. Drusilla started to bounce with glee. "Oh, goody! Can we start now daddy? Can we?"  
  
Angelus shook his head and backed off from the Judge. "Lets let our new friend start the show."  
  
The Judge extended his arms, feeling the energy tense through him. The air around him felt as an extension of his own body as blue sparks started to spring from his arms. With a final growl, the energy pulsed through his body relaying to pure lightning. The energy arced out his arms and through the crowd. The Judge's energy swarmed through the area, freezing the people in place. The Judge smiled widely.  
  
Suddenly a crossbow bolt hit the Judge in the chest and broke his concentration. The arcs of energy disappear, and the people fell to the floor. The Judge grabbed the bolt and pulled it from his chest.  
  
The judge snarled in anger. "Who dares?"  
  
Angelus and Drusilla look over at the refreshment stand. Buffy lowered the crossbow. Willow, Oz, Giles, and Cordelia, were steadfast holding crossbows and swords, preparing for an eventual counter attack.  
  
Buffy smiled. "Think I got his attention."  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
Xander snuck out from the third story terrace and pulled the clip, extending the LAW to its full length. He put the MP5 on the floor beneath him slowly, there were no vampires or demons guarding the floor luckily, so he took aim and waited for the signal.  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
The Judge slowly walked forward. "You're a fool. No weapon forged can stop me."  
  
Buffy reloaded her crossbow and shook her head at the monster. "That was then."  
  
Xander smirked and pulled the trigger.  
  
"This is now."  
  
Angelus and Drusilla looked up to the third terrace, seeing Xander holding the launcher. They exchanged a look before going into a dead run and leapt over the stair railing. Buffy and the rest of the team took cover behind the snack counter.  
  
The Judge cocked his head as the weapon fired. "What does that do?"  
  
The Judge didn't flinch as the rocket came down upon him. The explosion was enough to wake the people in the mall as they began to scream and run. Angelus and Drusilla hit the floor below. The team looked over the counter at what's left of the Judge. Bits of charred Judge fell all around them. The smoke cloud from the explosion still hung in the air.  
  
Buffy smiled and looked up at Xander. "Best present ever, Xan."  
  
Xander shouted back as he ran to the stairs. "Hah, I knew you'd like it."  
  
Willow walked over to a large blue arm and poked it. "Do you think he's dead?"  
  
Buffy walked off in search of Angelus. "We can't be sure. Pick up the pieces and keep them separate."  
  
The rest of the gang started to collect what's left of the Judge.  
  
Cordelia made a gagging noise as she picked up a foot. "Pieces? We get the pieces. Our job sucks!"  
  
Giles looked at her as they began to pick up the pieces of the Judge. "Could've been worse, we could have let it destroy all of humanity."  
  
Cordelia squealed as some of the blue blood got into her blouse.  
  
Giles sighed. "God help us all."  
  
Oz walked over behind a concession stand. He looked to the others and pointed to the floor. "Uh...arm." 


	6. Enter Sandman 6

-'Enter Sandman.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: Don't ask me about Giles' little speech at the end, he didn't know that Buffy hadn't killed Angelus when she had the chance. All he knows is that they had sex, causing Angelus to get free. That's from canon. I got it from buffyworld.com, but cut it down a bit. Which reminds me, thanks to buffyworld.com for episode summary and quotes.  
  
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat back in his chair. "So your saying, that, as time goes on, the changes that happen will differ more than what you could actually tell me."  
  
The man sat with his mouth agape staring at Xander.  
  
"What?"  
  
The man shook his head. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."  
  
Xander deadpanned. "The confidence in the room is aspiring."  
  
"Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This," the man gestured at the dark room, "could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow. "And that's better than the alternative?"  
  
The man stood up to leave. "Anything is better than the alternative."  
  
Xander stood up to follow, but the man turned and had one final piece of advice. "You can't win their battles for them, Xander, You're gonna need to fight your own."  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
Xander raced down the stairwell. Buffy could hold her own against any vamps, but the others would need backup. He was just lucky that he hadn't run into any...  
  
"Kill him!"  
  
...Vamps.  
  
He turned to see four vampires start to chase after him. 'I don't have time for this,' thought Xander. He reached for his belt and threw his incendiary grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it as high as he could up the stairwell. "HOT POTATO!"  
  
The leader of the vamps screamed as the canister released its gelatinous gasoline and ignited. The flames reached the fire detector, setting off the sprinklers.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////  
  
The sprinklers rained down on Buffy. She turned to face Angelus, when suddenly he appeared from behind and knocked her down.  
  
Angelus returned to the shadows. Buffy got up only to face a bodiless voice. "You know what the worst part was, huh? Pretending that I loved you. If I'd known how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have even bothered."  
  
Buffy spun around trying to pinpoint the speaker. "That doesn't work anymore. You're not Angel."  
  
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? It doesn't matter. The important thing is you made me the man I am today!"  
  
Angelus dove at her. Buffy pivoted and kicked him in the face. He blocked her next swing and punched her in the face and chest. He grabbed her arm and swung her around to throw her, but she regained her balance. He kicked her in the face causing her to fall to the floor.  
  
Angel walked over and shouted. "Is this anyway to treat your lover?"  
  
He was interrupted by a series of shots to the side by a submachine gun holding Xander Harris. Xander rushed from the corridor and used short, controlled bursts to scare him off. "Yeah, I'd say that's about the right way."  
  
Xander turned to help Buffy up. "You okay Bu-OMPH"  
  
He got knocked down by a very pissed of Drusilla. "Naughty kitten bit daddy. Mummy's not going to give you any treats."  
  
Xander elbowed her in the face, and rolled to his feet. "I would think of something clever to say," he spit out some blood and raised his MP5, "but then you'd..."  
  
Drusilla knocked the gun out of his hands and threw him to the floor. "Hey!" He got up and faked a right jab while sweeping her legs out from under her. "Don't _fuck_ with my guns you crazy bitch."  
  
///////////////////////////  
  
Angelus picked himself up. The boy was able to injure him, but 'lucky for me, guns don't kill vamps.' He ran over to help Drusilla deal with Xander when Buffy walked into his path.  
  
He smiled and walked slowly towards her. "What is it little Buffy?"  
  
Buffy kneed him in the chin, "That." and then delivered a series of punches to his torso and face.  
  
////////////////////////  
  
Xander was getting his ass handed to him. He ran across the corridor, only to be cut off again by a very annoyed vampiress. He fought tooth and nail to defend himself against Drusilla, but the insane vamp kept on coming. She grabbed his wrists and twisted his arms back, causing Xander to hiss in pain before breaking her grip and dodging another attack. He took his Desert Eagle out from the back of his jeans and aimed it at the undead attacker.  
  
Drusilla grabbed the barrel of the gun, just as he was tensing to fire and tore it out of his hand. She backhanded the boy, sending him flying into the opposite wall. "Tsk, tsk kitten, Mummy has to teach you a lesson now."  
  
Xander felt three of his ribs break. He looked over to where his attacker steadily walked over to his feet and dragged him up by the collar.  
  
She pulled Xander's hair back, exposing his neck and vamped out. "Don't worry now, we can give you..." she stopped for a second and looked into his eyes. "Its all different now. You've gone forward and backward."  
  
Xander felt her grip tighten and felt a voice in the back of his head followed by a cold, prickly sensation along the base of his spine.  
  
///////////////  
  
The man looked Xander in the eyes and said, "You have to let go."  
  
//////////////////  
  
Xander felt the cold flow down his spine into every pore of his body. Drusilla flinched back as his eyes burned a feral yellow. "Aww, my kitten is friends with a puppy."  
  
Xander growled and launched into the offensive. Drusilla leaned back into a classical fighting stance only to be tackled by Xander. She rolled over and flipped Xander into the air. Xander landed behind her and snap kicked her face into a display case. Her face morphed and she screamed for blood. Xander growled his acceptance and charged again.  
  
Druscilla dodged his attack and brought about another blow to Xander's head. Blood blurred his vision as he growled and leapt to his feet. He rushed the vampires again and delivered a frantic uppercut followed by a left jab to the side and a roundhouse kick to the mid section. She screamed and flew towards him. He caught her by the wrists and flung her thought the nearest window.  
  
He heard a scream and ran off in search of Buffy.  
  
///////////////  
  
Buffy lunged at Angelus. The master vampire grinned and lunged right back at her. She grabbed his arm and threw him into a display window. He crashed through the glass, but immediately straightened back up, breaking the top pane and the frame of the case as well. She followed up and kicked him in the face and again in the chest. He stood and grinned as she let loose her barrage of kicks and punches. "Oh, Buffy, you know how I like it."  
  
She had enough and let loose an elbow jab to the face followed by a ferocious kick to the chest. She pulled out a stake and got ready to finish the job.  
  
Angelus straightened up and faced her. Buffy 's face grimaced and darkened, but after a second, she lowered the stake and just stared at him.  
  
Angelus smiled and walked forward. "You can't do it. You can't kill me."  
  
Her anger took over and she screamed with all of her pain and self-anger and kicked him extremely hard in the crotch. Angelus howled in extreme pain and collapsed to his knees. Buffy turned her back on him and walked away. "Give me time."  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander rounded the corner to see an empty corridor. A display case had been broken and there was broken glass and blood everywhere, but no dust.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Giles pulled his ancient car up to 1630 Revello drive. He looked over at his charge before turning off the engine. For several seconds, there is only silence in the car.  
  
Giles decided to break the ice. "It's not over. I suppose you know that. He'll come after you, particularly. He... he's likely to strike out at the things that made him the most human. The rest of us, but mostly you."  
  
Buffy looked down at her shoes. "You must be so disappointed in me."  
  
Giles shook his head. "No." Buffy looked up at him with unshed tears. "No, no, I'm not."  
  
Buffy didn't listen to him. "But this is all my fault."  
  
Giles sighed before continuing. "No. I don't believe it is. I know that you loved him. And...he...has proven more than once that he loved you. You couldn't have known what would happen. The coming months are gonna, are gonna be hard... I suspect on all of us, but... if it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm not your man. All you will get from me is, is my support, and my respect."  
  
Buffy smiled at him through her tears.  
  
//////////////////////////////  
  
Xander watched the conversation from behind the tree. He picked himself up and grabbed his gear. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck and the base of his spine. He didn't know exactly what happened to him or what still was going on, but he remembered the last thing the man told him.  
  
He sighed. "I can't win their battles for them." Resigned, he turned down the street and started the long walk home.  
  
'Wonder what I'll friggin dream about tonight.'  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1991 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved  
  
Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget, my son, To include everyone.  
  
Tuck you in, warm within. Keep you free from sin, Till the sandman he comes.  
  
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.  
  
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.  
  
Something's wrong, shut the light. Heavy thoughts tonight, And they aren't of Snow White.  
  
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, Dreams of dragon's fire, And of things that will bite.  
  
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.  
  
Exit: light. Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.  
  
Now I lay me down to sleep, Pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, Pray the Lord my soul to take.  
  
Hush little baby, don't say a word. And never mind that noise you heard. It's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, in your head.  
  
Exit: light, Enter: night Grain of sand  
  
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land. 


	7. Sad But True 1

-'Sad But True.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the follow up to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////  
  
"...In the days following the Sunnydale Mall attack, local law enforcement has been increased. While local parental groups have been lobbying for a curfew, Mayor Wilkins has made several press statements saying that a curfew would only increase paranoia and that local businesses need the night life to make a living. In unrelated news, The National Guard Armory outside of town has been raided several times, while authorities have yet to find the culprit. Officials there have stated quote 'some of the items stolen were not standard equipment for personnel. Some were personal belongings.' And now to sports with Kooky Kirk!!-*Click*."  
  
Xander turned the radio off and laughed. Cordelia looked at him like he was crazy.  
  
"What? I think its funny that the local news would do an editorial about some of my new late night habits, and yet the Channel Six 'investigative reporters' wont ever look into the fact that the school newspaper has an obituary right next to the lunch menus. Don't you think that's a little crazy?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head and Xander swore that every now and then he could see a real person underneath everything. Inside her car, Xander found himself in a predicament. On the one hand, he was in a secluded area of the park at night making out with one of the most attractive girls in school. On the other hand, it was Cordelia.  
  
Cordelia noticed that Xander was not fully into making out. "Do you even wanna be here?"  
  
Xander shook his head. "Well, I'm not running away screaming."  
  
Cordelia continued. "Because when you're not being mildly insane, you're not babbling about poor, defenseless Willow, or _raving_ about the all- powerful Buffy."  
  
Xander stammered. "I do not babble. I might occasionally slur words together, every now and then I kinda run on or stammer and stutter..."  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Cordelia motioned outside of the car. "Look around. We're in my car, it's just the two of us, there's a beautiful, big full moon outside tonight. There's no one around. It doesn't get more passionate and romantic than this...So shut up!"  
  
Xander stopped himself and looked at the brunette. Her long brown hair had fallen on both sides of her face. She was staring up at him with an annoyed look, but that only made her look even cuter. Xander chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry Cor. I'm just protective of my girls."  
  
Cordelia leaned back in her seat and gave Xander a dirty look. "YOUR girls?"  
  
Xander realized his mistake. 'Crap.'  
  
"What do you mean YOUR girls?"  
  
Xander heard a small noise and felt a familiar chill run down his spine. He looked out the window and reached for his tote bag in the front seat. "Did you hear that?"  
  
Cordelia frowned. "What is it now? Don't think you can change the topic so easily."  
  
Xander pulled out one of his pistols and a clip to load it. "I thought I heard something."  
  
Cordelia fell back in her seat. "What? Is one of 'YOUR GIRLS' sending out some sorta distress signal that only _you_ can hear?"  
  
Xander wasn't paying attention to her as cocked the gun. "Huh?"  
  
Cordelia inched back in her seat. "XANDER, WHAT THEY HELL ARE YOU DOING? I TOLD YOU NEVER TO..."  
  
Xander covered her mouth. "Shhh."  
  
After a second of silence, Xander let go of Cordelia and unloaded the gun and put it back in the bag. Cordelia was frozen. Xander turned back to her. "What?"  
  
She started hitting him over the head with her bare hand. "I TOLD YOU THAT I NEVER WANT TO SEE ONE OF YOUR GUNS IN MY CAR EVER AGAIN!!"  
  
*Thwack* "Ow, Cordy," *Thwack* "OW! Listen I know that," *Thwack* "Ow, QUIT IT!"  
  
A hairy arm with a clawed hand punched through the convertible top. Cordelia screamed and made a grab for the keys, while Xander reached back for the pistol.  
  
"GET US OUTTA HERE!"  
  
The creature on the roof of the car snarled as it reaches around for them inside. Xander finally got his pistol and quickly loaded a magazine. He shot several rounds through the roof.  
  
Cordelia screamed, "Where are the keys?"  
  
Xander's gunfire was enough to knock the creature off the car. "How the hell should I know? You were driving."  
  
"Well, maybe if _BUFFY_ was here, she'd know what to do"  
  
"Well maybe if you were okay with us going to public places, we wouldn't be attacked by a giant Cujo!"  
  
"Well, if I were a..." Cordelia was cut off by a large growl. The two of them turned to see a very pissed off werewolf looking at them through the windshield. Xander talked slowly and quietly. "We should be moving. Let's go."  
  
Cordelia found the keys and started the ignition. "Oh, I got 'em! Got 'em!"  
  
She put the car into reverse, making the animal fall off the hood.  
  
Xander stood through the hole in the roof and kept defensive fire on the creature. Cordelia put the car in drive and speed away.  
  
Xander sat back in the seat and put the safety on the pistol. He glanced over at Cordelia, who looked scared shitless.  
  
Xander smirked as he put his seatbelt back on. "Told ya I heard something."  
  
*Thwack*  
  
"Ow."  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Giles walked back from behind the stacks with an assortment of books and handed one to each person. "And you're sure it was a werewolf?"  
  
Xander replied with a strait face. "Well, let's see, um, six feet tall, claws, a big old snout in the middle of his face like a wolf. Hairy, with bad doggie breath, yeah, I'm sticking with my first guess."  
  
Oz nodded. "Seems wise."  
  
Cordelia sobbed and put her head on Xander's shoulder. "It was so awful."  
  
Xander put his arm around her and started to comfort her. "I know."  
  
Cordelia started to cry. "Daddy just had my car detailed."  
  
Buffy walked into the library to see everyone else had already arrived. "So what's the what? Any new evil creepy crawlies in town."  
  
Giles walked over to her and handed her a large almanac. "Last night Cordelia and Xander were cornered by what seems to be a lycanthrope."  
  
Xander looked confused. "I thought it was a werewolf."  
  
Cordelia smiled sweetly at Xander. "Or maybe we were attacked by one of Xander's relatives."  
  
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. "When I researched further, it seems there was a, a number of attacks by a wild dog around town reported. Several animal carcasses were found mutilated."  
  
Willow's face paled. "You mean, like rabbits and squirrels and stuff?"  
  
Oz smiled reassuringly. "Oh, don't worry. I mean, they might not look it, but bunnies and squirrels can really take care of themselves."  
  
Giles tried to get them back on topic. "Yes, um, fortunately, no people were injured. But my guess is that this werewolf will be back at next month's full moon."  
  
Willow spoke up. "What about tonight's full moon?"  
  
Giles put his glasses back on. "Pardon?"  
  
"Well, last night was the night before the full moon, traditionally known as... 'the night before the full moon.'"  
  
Giles nodded and went in search of more books. "Meaning the accepted legend that werewolves only prowl during a full moon might be erroneous."  
  
Xander joined in. "Unless the werewolf was using last year's calendar."  
  
Buffy looked at Giles, who was pacing back and forth between the library stacks. "Looks like Giles has got some schooling to do."  
  
Giles stammered as he looked at the different demon encyclopedias. "Yes, I must admit I, I am intrigued. Werewolves, it's... it's one of the classics. I, I'm sure my books and I are in for an absolutely fascinating afternoon."  
  
The group watched as Giles disappeared into the back of the library. Xander smirked. "G-man needs a pet." 


	8. Sad But True 2

-'Sad But True.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the follow up to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sighed as he walked over to the fridge. The afternoon study session had turned into an all-nighter. He had wandered home about 2:30 am. Luckily his parents had gone away to his Uncle Rory's for the weekend, something about a woman, a chainsaw, and a book.  
  
Xander smiled and shook his head. 'You just never know with Uncle Rory.'  
  
The fridge, being as emptier than usual, left Xander feeling hungry as he walked to his room. His stomach grumbled as he shut the door behind him and carefully locked it.  
  
"Its okay my sweet, I shall feed you tomorrow. We shall go to the casa de Summers, where the women are beautiful and the food is edible."  
  
His stomach remained quiet, accepting his apology and promise of a meal.  
  
He went around the room, making his nightly ritual of locking windows and checking guns. He hadn't actually _needed_ to go back several times, since he had enough ammo and weaponry to start a small conflict. But he went back several times to see if they got any new goodies. He didn't understand why the Sunnydale National Guard had such...diverse firearms, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. His ritual finished, he stared at his bed. He hadn't been getting very good sleep. It wasn't nightmares or prophetic dreams. It wasn't _any_ dreams. He would lie down and wake up several hours later. It had unnerved him at first, but lately there had been more...pressing issues.  
  
The Soldier was back. And so was the Hyena. If Xander could dream, he wasn't sure he'd want to see what they had in store for him. They weren't in control and they weren't as powerful as they were. But the Hyena had saved him from Drusilla a week or so ago and the Soldier had saved him from the werewolf as well as gave him the inspiration to take care of the Judge. He remembered that feeling of the hunt and power from the Hyena. He remembered the skill and knowledge from the Soldier. But he wasn't sure if they were different entities or an ingrained part of himself. There weren't voices in his head; they didn't possess him. It was more like he felt their memories. But they were still there. Nudging him, pointing him in directions. He wasn't sure if it was because of the visit from the man in his dreams or of their own accord.  
  
He looked to the bed, deciding whether or not to really try. 'In the end, you can always hope,' he reasoned and plopped down on the bed.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Giles stood in the middle of the library demonstrating the phases of the moon using a large earth globe with a smaller moon globe attached by a bar.  
  
"...And, uh, while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche, uh, the phases of the moon, uh, do seem to exert a great deal of psychological and magical influence. Note all of the rituals that require either a full or new moon to perform."  
  
Xander made a lame joke. "And yet, ironically, led to the start of mooning."  
  
Giles chuckled. "Oh...yes, mooning." He started to snicker and laugh harder. Buffy and Willow gave Xander a look. Giles shook his head and continued. "Y-you see, uh, the-the werewolf, uh, is such a, a potent extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it emerges for three full consecutive nights: the full moon and, uh, the two nights surrounding it. The new moon however, it seems does not."  
  
Xander tried his luck again. "I guess he's quite the party animal."  
  
Giles ignored him. Xander shrugged. "Damn, and I was on a roll."  
  
"And it, uh, acts on-on pure instinct. No conscience, uh, uh, predatory and, and aggressive."  
  
Buffy spoke up. "In other words, your typical male."  
  
Xander gave her a look and spoke with a poor French accent. "I fart in your general direction."  
  
Buffy and Willow gave him a disgusted look, while Giles had a large smirk as Monty Python is required for British Citizenship. Oz merely raised an eyebrow.  
  
Giles shook his head as he began to put his demonstration set up. "Yes, well, let's not jump to any conclusions."  
  
Buffy smiled. "I didn't jump. I took a tiny step, and there the conclusions were."  
  
Xander smiled thinking he could 'aquire' some new ammo. "So then I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?"  
  
Giles shook his head and looked at the boy. "No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."  
  
//////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander looked over his shoulder. He knew that Buffy and Giles would be patrolling this side of the park for the werewolf soon, so he had to act fast. He took out his machete and newly acquired silenced USP. The bullets shouldn't 'kill' the werewolf, especially seeing as how he unloaded a whole clip into it earlier, but it would probably slow it down a little. He checked and made sure that he had three clips for the pistol and put it in the brown harness he 'acquired' a week ago. When he left his house, he made sure that his clothes, while not camouflage, were dark tones. His navy blue long sleeve shirt and his dark green pants and black shoes, wouldn't be invisible, but they wouldn't be the easiest things to see at night in the woods. Also if he walked around the town, is he kept his black jacket on, concealing the pistol, no one would give him a second glance.  
  
He stuck the large knife in the ground and looked around. He had to concentrate. He had to be in control. If he could replicate the cold rush that happened when he felt the Hyena, if he could control it at will, he might stand a fighting chance. When he had been fighting earlier, it was the primal instinct to fight that kept him alive. If he was to keep on going, he had to be able to think clearly and not solely give into instinct and urges.  
  
Once he made sure there was no one in the immediate area he took out a bottle of water and poured it over his head. The water washed through his hair and dripped down his face. He felt a small bead trickle down the back of his head to his neck. The tiny droplet rolled over the skin concealing his spine. The cold water touched the base of his spine, letting the cold seep into his skin, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand strait. He let go of the outside world and concentrated feeling the cold, feeling the strength. He felt the cold shiver wash over him and looked over the area. He bent over and picked up the machete. His eyes flashed yellow and he ran in search of his prey.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Cain walked through the park. He knew this is where the wolf had been. After years of fighting demons, his tracking skills had become unparalleled. He heard a rustle behind him and turned to see a teenage boy looking at him with a machete in his hand. He pointed the rifle at him. "Listen kid, I don't have time for your bullshit, go home."  
  
The boy smiled and walked closer. Cain held back a smirk as he came close to the net trap that Cain had intended for the wolf-man. The boy stepped to his side and walked around it. Cain aimed the rifle at the boy's head "Hands are good right about there. Mind telling me what the hell you're doing boy?"  
  
The boy's eyes seemed to clash amber with brown. He stared Cain right in the eye and spoke. "Be vewwy vewwy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits."  
  
Cain fought the urge to shoot. "Boy, you had better not be fuckin with me."  
  
The boy grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. The name is Xander. I figure we can help each other out."  
  
////////////////////////  
  
Xander smirked as he ran through the back alleys of Sunnydale. Cain hadn't been very receptive to his offer, something about splitting his money, but Xander got some information out of him. He muttered as he ran to the Bronze, "The werewolf is attracted to pent up sexual energy huh? No wonder the bastard found Cordy and me." He smiled, thinking of some of his favorite janitor closet moments.  
  
After he did a sweep of the rest of the forest and the bluff, he finally got to the Bronze in time to see Cain and Buffy arguing.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Cain couldn't believe his luck, first the comedian, now this. "You let it get away."  
  
Buffy walked over to pick up her stake and large chain leash. "I didn't let it do anything. I had the chain around its neck."  
  
Cain rolled his eyes. "Chain? What were you gonna do, take it for a goddamn walk?"  
  
"I was going to lock it up."  
  
Cain walked over to Buffy and shook his head. "Oh, That's beautiful, real freaking beautiful. This is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job."  
  
Xander walked out from behind the corner and saw Cordelia and Willow over in the corner and went over to see if they were okay. "Hey, you two alright?"  
  
Cordelia looked over at her 'boyfriend.' "You big jerk!" *Thwap!* "You were supposed to meet me here" *Thwap* "ten minutes ago." *Thwap*  
  
Xander tried to duck under the barrage of slaps and punches. "Ow, Not for another ten minutes." *Thwap* "OWW!! That one hurt Cor!"  
  
Cordelia picked up her purse and started to hit him with it. "That's not the point. I was waiting here for you and the werewolf attacked me. "*Thwap* "You're supposed to be there and protect me." *Thwap*  
  
"Ow! Dammit Cordy!" Xander turned to Willow. "How about you? You ok? Where's Oz?"  
  
Willow looked at her feet. "I don't know. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."  
  
Xander couldn't help but feel vindicated. "Oh well, you know those band types."  
  
*Thwap*  
  
"OW! DAMMIT COR, SERIOUSLY!"  
  
/////////////////////  
  
The sun rose across the hills in Sunnydale, illuminating the forest. Oz woke up, atop of a small hill. He opened his eyes and noticed two things. He was naked and he was in a forest.  
  
"Huh." 


	9. Sad But True 3

-'Sad But True.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the follow up to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander leaned against the wall. There was another meeting after school, and everyone except for Oz filtered in.  
  
Buffy started the meeting. "I can't believe I let that thing get away. Cain was right. I should have killed it when I had the chance."  
  
Xander walked up to the table and sat next to Willow. "So what are we looking for?"  
  
Giles walked out of the office with a large book in his hands. "The lycanthrope..." Xander raised his hand. Giles sighed, "...werewolf, is supposedly created when one lyc... werewolf mixes his blood with that of a normal human being, it is the same idea as vampirism, but they keep their souls and are killed and handled differently."  
  
Willow deciphered for the rest of the group. "Okay so it's someone who was either scratched or attacked by a large dog."  
  
Giles nodded. "Yes, also they are supposed to be more aggressive: sexually, physically and emotionally. And generally are mean to those perceived as weaker."  
  
Buffy stood up. "Oh my god, Larry!"  
  
Giles stammered, "W-who?"  
  
Buffy explained. "He is a total idiot sexist mean jock head, and he was awfully gleeful about tormenting Theresa. They found her body in the woods."  
  
"Still, that doesn't necessarily mean that..."  
  
Xander got up to leave. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Gonna force a confession out of him."  
  
Buffy stood up to counter him. "Nuh uh, I'm the slayer. _I_ go talk."  
  
Xander smirked at her. "He's in the locker room, Football practice gets out about now."  
  
Buffy's cheeks reddened as she sat back down. "That's a good idea, go talk to him Xander."  
  
Giles looked up from his book. "Good. Go. Uh, in the meantime, we need to cover our bases. Willow, um, check the student files. See if anybody else fits the profile."  
  
Xander walked up to the doors and saw Oz walk in. He couldn't help but feel himself snarl when Oz walked in. Oz looked at him peculiarly. "Sorry," Xander said, "got a frog in my throat."  
  
Oz nodded and walked into the library. "What the hell was that all about?"  
  
///////////////////////////  
  
Xander ran down the hall to the boys' locker room. "What the hell was that all about?"  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
Xander stood waiting in the boys' locker room, waiting for football practice to end. He saw Larry come in and walked up behind him.  
  
"Hey Larry."  
  
Larry spun around and grabbed his chest. "Harris. Sheesh. Doesn't your keeper have you on a leash or something?"  
  
Xander tried to keep a strait face. "Why so jumpy, Larry?"  
  
Larry gave him a death glare while he opened his locker. "You'd be jumpy too if geeks and nerds were stalking you."  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Is that really it Larry, or is there something you're hiding?"  
  
Larry leaned on his locker door. "I could hide my fist in your face, or better yet, my foot up your ass."  
  
Xander stood up and looked Larry in the face. "I know your secret, big guy. I know what you've been doing at night."  
  
Larry poked Xander in the chest. "You know, Harris, that tone of voice is going to get you beaten within an inch of your life one of these days..." He grabbed him by the collar, "like today for example. Today is a good day to die."  
  
Xander grabbed his thumb with his left hand and twisted Larry's hand. "God Larry, be a drama queen why don't ya? Hurting me isn't gonna make this go away. People are still gonna find out. People can get hurt. Its all about how we handle this."  
  
Larry let go and held his wrist. "Alright. What do you want? Hush money? Want me to make it easier for you with the 'in' crowd? Is that what you're after?"  
  
Xander tried to reassure him. "I don't _want_ anything! I just want to help!"  
  
Larry put his forehead on the locker. "What, you think you have a cure?"  
  
Xander put his hand on his shoulder. "No, it's just... I know what you're going through because I've been there. It's hard and tough. You don't ever forget what you did. You don't forget what youre capable of, no matter how much or how hard you might want to. You have to be able to accept it as a part of yourself. That's why I know you should talk about it."  
  
Larry held back a sob. "Yeah, that's easy for _you_ to say. I mean, you're practically nobody. I've got a reputation here."  
  
Xander rubbed his shoulder. "Larry, please, before someone else gets hurt. I mean, last year, when it happened to me, the only reason I got through it was my friends. They understood. They helped me."  
  
Larry turned and pointed at Xander's chest. "Look, if this gets out, it's over for me. I mean, forget about playing football. The looks I'll get. They'll run me outta this town. I mean, come on! How are people going to look at me..."  
  
Xander put his hand back on Larry's shoulder. "Its okay Larry, just say it."  
  
"...after they find out I'm gay."  
  
Xander picked his hand up and looked at him in shock. Larry smiled. "Oh, wow. I said it. And it felt... okay. I'm gay." He approached Xander. "I am gay."  
  
Xander took a step back. "Way to go, I heard you the first time."  
  
Larry looks at the ceiling. "I can't believe it. It was almost easy. It feels like a heavy burden has just been lifted. God, I never felt I could tell anyone." He gestured to Xander. "And then you, you of all people, you bring it outta me."  
  
Xander held up his hands. "Hey now, don't go involving me. It probably would have come out sooner or later."  
  
Larry leaned on his locker door. "No, no, because knowing you went through the same thing, made it easier for me to admit it. Its easier if you know that someone else can handle it."  
  
Xander's eyes widened. "The same thing..."  
  
Larry put his arm around Xander. "It's ironic. I mean, all those times I beat the crap out of you, it musta been because I recognized something in you that I didn't want to believe about myself. I knew I hated myself for it, but you actually made me realize that I shouldn't hate it, I should accept it, just like you have."  
  
Xander laughed nervously. "Hey now, Larry, listen, no, _noooo_, I am not..."  
  
Larry nodded his head and patted Xander on the back. "Of course, of course not. Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."  
  
Larry whispered to himself. "I'm gay. Wow."  
  
He smiled and gave Xander a hug and left.  
  
Xander stood there looking at the locker door for a minute. "Well...shit."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Buffy saw Xander in the hallway looking pensive. "So how'd it go with Larry?"  
  
Xander stood up and took a step back. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "I think it's supposed to mean, how'd it go with Larry'?"  
  
She stopped at her locker and reached for the combination lock.  
  
Xander shook his head. "He's not the werewolf. Can't we just leave it at that? Can't you ever let anything be? Must you always just _push_ and _push_?"  
  
Buffy opened her locker. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering."  
  
Xander leaned against the next locker. "Well, he's not."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. Xander leaned against the wall as she took off her backpack and put it in her locker. "But there goes our lead suspect, which then puts us right back at square boned."  
  
Xander smiled and shook his head. "You're not boned, you're Buffy. Baker of brownies. Killer of bad things. Defender of, um... things that need defending."  
  
Buffy looked at her shoes. "Tell that to Theresa. She could have used my defending before she was ripped apart by that werewolf."  
  
They both stopped for a second and looked at each other.  
  
Buffy spoke first. "Nowhere in any of the reports did it say anything about her being mauled. I mean, they were linked to the animal attacks from the other night, so we just assumed werewolf."  
  
Xander nodded. "And we all know there is no end of things that just love to maul people in Sunnydale."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander followed Buffy into the funeral home. They looked through the ceremonies and saw Theresa in her coffin with a scarf around her neck. Buffy pulled it back to see two puncture marks on the left side of her neck.  
  
Xander cursed. "Dammit."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Vampire."  
  
Buffy walked over to the guest register and signed her name. "Instead of not protecting Theresa from the werewolf, I was able to not protect her from something just as bad."  
  
Xander saw Buffy looking crestfallen "Buffy, you can't blame yourself for every death that happens in Sunnydale. You cant be everywhere all the time. If it weren't for you, people would be lined up five deep waiting to get killed. God, how many people have you saved since you got here? Even us, Willow would be a Robot's love slave, I would be killed about five times by my count, Giles would still be overly British," he turned and looked at the coffin, "and Theresa's a vampire."  
  
Theresa sat up and growled. Buffy turned around in time to see Theresa hop out of the coffin. She grabbed the newly risen vamp and tried to wrestle her to the floor, but Theresa threw her down and lunged for her neck. Buffy rolled her over and kicked her away. She was about to strike again when Theresa spoke. "Angel sends his love."  
  
Buffy froze. Theresa kicked Buffy's arm and sends the stick flying away. She grabbed Buffy by the shoulders, and wrestled her onto her back to pin her.  
  
Xander ran over to a wooden easel holding a flower wreath and broke off a leg. He charged the vampire and knocked her over. She got back up in time for Xander to thrust the leg into her chest.  
  
Xander dusted himself off and looked at Buffy. "You okay Buff?"  
  
Buffy sat and looked at the floor. "Angel."  
  
Xander tosses the easel aside and looks down at her. "Hey Buff, its okay. She's gone."  
  
Buffy stared up at Xander. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but Buffy just looked aside sadly and then rolled over.  
  
Xander leaned down to her and extended his hand. "Hey, are you okay?  
  
Buffy took his hand and started to get up. "This isn't happening." She pulled Xander into a soft hug and cried into his shoulder. "He's gonna keep coming after me."  
  
Xander hugged her back gently. "Don't let him get to you. He's not the same guy you knew. I mean, hell, I didn't like the guy, but he wanted to protect you, I could respect that even if I didn't respect him."  
  
She pulled back a bit and looks up at him. Xander looked into her light blue eyes and saw the sadness and hurt in the petite blonde's soul. He smiled a little and tightened the hug. "Its okay Buff, I wont let him hurt you."  
  
She smiled back. "Come on Xan," she broke the hug to pick up her backpack, "we gotta run." She ran out the building hiding unshed tears.  
  
Xander stood for a second, staring after her retreating figure. He sighed and mentally kicked himself. "No, my life's not too complicated. _Nooooo_, I just like to keep on falling for the same woman over and over again."  
  
He walked out the door and jogged to catch up to her. "Stupid damn vampires. If its not taking over the world, it's fucking with my love life." 


	10. Sad But True 4

-'Sad But True.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander ran along the road to Oz's house. He saw Buffy and Giles running to the house. 'Great, the wolf's probably in there killing Oz right now.' A little part of his mind echoed, 'You wouldn't mind it that much would you?' He grimaced and turned that little part off. He saw the wolf break out of the back window and run into the woods. Willow ran out of the house and was followed by Buffy and Giles with a tranquilizer gun. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cain pull up to the house and jump out of his truck with a rifle.  
  
'Crap, Buffy, Willow, and Giles probably don't stand a chance, and Cain will probably kill the poor bastard.' Xander saw all four head into the woods. 'Where's Oz? If he's not there, either he's dead or...crap.' His run became more of a sprint and he felt the tug of the Hyena pull at him. His pores were on fire as the cold chill swept through his body, letting the sweat freeze and burn at the same time. His eyes flashed yellow as he ducked into the woods.  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Cain ran through the woods stalking his prey. Werewolves, while very powerful and formidable, left a large enough trail that even amateur trackers could find them. Fortunately for him, only the experienced could survive the encounter. The boy from before cut him off, in his same navy blue shirt and dark green pants.  
  
Cain walked forward and aimed his gun at the child. "Listen boy, I don't want to tell you again, this aint for amateurs, There's a 'were' out here and I aim to find him."  
  
The boy smiled and shook his head. "No you won't. I figured out who it is, and while he's not my best friend. He means a lot to her. So I'll let you go and you don't ever come back."  
  
Cain frowned. "Do you know what you're saying boy? You cant trust a 'were,' they're cold blooded killers. He'll probably turn your friend into a monster just like him, then what'll you do huh?" He walked forward, raising his voice. "If you loved your friend, you should just let me kill it."  
  
Xander shook his head. "That's not my choice. And as for him, he can be controlled; I know that he can control the animal inside. It just takes time."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
Xander leaned forward and bared a feral smile, his eyes glowing yellow. "Trust me."  
  
Cain jumped back and shot at the boy, who simply managed to disappear into the woods. "Do you know what this town is? There are worse things in this town then accounted for in your humble mythology my friend and guess what?"  
  
Cain turned around firing blindly into the dark. He turned to see the boy within inches of his face, the amber in his eyes burning away the brown. "I'm one of them."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////  
  
Buffy, ran through the night. She turned behind her to see Giles and Willow struggling to keep up. Suddenly she stopped. Giles and Willow slowed to a jog until they caught up to her. She held up a finger to her lips, indicating for them to be quiet. They nodded and stood in silence for several seconds until a shrill scream was heard. Buffy sprinted off in the direction from where the sounds had come.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////  
  
The wolf walked along the path. Smaller animals scattered away from the lumbering creature. It put its nose in the air and growled as it turned around. Behind him was a human holding a large metal stick that it recognized from before. The human held it up. "Hey Oz, I borrowed this from Giles' car do you think he'll mind?"  
  
The wolf bared its teeth and charged the boy. "Crap." The boy jumped up into the trees and shouted down at the wolf. "Hey Oz man, It's Xander..." The wolf ran full force into the tree making Xander fall out. "OOMPH!"  
  
The wolf lunged at him, the boy's eyes glowed yellow and his mouth made a slow growling sound as he spoke. "STOP!"  
  
The wolf looked up at the being before him, it smelled familiar, something of both a friend and a rival. A calmer piece of its mind started to take form. The man spoke. "I know that you're gonna hate me in the morning aren't you?"  
  
Xander took aim and shot the creature in the chest with the tranq gun. The wolf slowly started to howl and whimper as it shifted back to its human form. Xander sat next to Oz and waited until it was finished. "Listen Oz, I know we have our differences, but this isn't doing any good for Willow, and as much as it hurts me to say, I think that she might actually care for you alright?"  
  
He looked at the prone form lying on the ground and took off his jacket and put it around him before picking him up. "I know that I'm not good enough for her, she deserves much better than me. And maybe you might somehow be good for her. All I know is that she actually smiles when you look at her alright?"  
  
Xander sighed as he heard the voices of his friends start to get closer. He leaned the sleeping guitarist against a tree and removed the dart. "Ya know Oz, if you hurt her, I will _not_ hesitate to kick your ass. And even if I somehow can't, I'll make sure that I find someone who will."  
  
He smiled sadly as he heard Willow shout out for Oz. He took his jacket back and ran back towards his house.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander and Buffy walked past the trophy case and into the lounge. Xander talked to her as she went up to the vending machine and got some pretzels. "So you found Cain all unconscious next to a tree?"  
  
Buffy nodded while looking for some pretzels. "Yep, We took him and put him on bus going to LA. And, as Giles said, 'good riddance to bad rubbish.'"  
  
Xander smiled. He saw someone out of the corner of his eye and started to think aloud. "This is all so weird. I mean, how are we supposed to act when we see him?"  
  
Buffy nodded but disagreed. "Well, it's gotta be weird for him, too. Now that we know so much."  
  
Xander shook his head and leaned against the column. "All I know is I'll never be able to look at him the same again."  
  
Buffy looked at Xander with disdain. "He's still a human being. Most of the time."  
  
She bent over to pick up her Rold Golds. Xander raised an eyebrow. "Who are we talking about again?"  
  
Buffy gave him an odd look. "Oz. Who are you talking about?"  
  
Xander tried to change the subject. "Oh, No one. Just Xander being funny ole Xan-man, crazy class clown person, you know how it is."  
  
She gave him an odd look before turning to see Larry's jock friends by the stairs knock a girl's books out of her hands and laugh. Larry came down the stairs behind her and quickly reached down to help her pick up her books. "Hey, let me get those."  
  
The girl, while thankful seemed very surprised. "Thanks."  
  
His friends seemed even more surprised.  
  
Buffy's jaw dropped. Larry came over to Xander. "Hey! Xander. Look, about what you did. I, I owe you."  
  
Buffy turned to Xander with a questioning look on her face. "What'd you do?"  
  
Xander tried to move it quickly. "It's really nothing we should be talking about," he turned to Larry, "_ever_."  
  
Larry smiled and waved him off. "I know, I know. It's just, well," he leaned over and patted him on the arm before walking away, "thanks."  
  
There were several seconds of silence, as the whole student body had a very confused and slightly disturbed look on their faces. Buffy opened her pretzels and popped one into her mouth. "That was weird."  
  
They walked over to a table and sat. Xander pulled out a brown paper bag. He noticed Buffy still looking at him oddly. "What, it's not okay for one guy to like another guy just because he happened to be in the locker room with him when absolutely nothing happened and I thought I told you not to push."  
  
Buffy held up her hands in defeat. "All I meant is that he didn't try to look down my shirt."  
  
Xander fidgeted with his hands and smiled nervously. "Oh, oh, yeah, that's the weirdness."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Weirdness abounds lately. Maybe it's the moon. Giles was right, that does stuff to people."  
  
Xander smiled and took out a salami sandwich. "I hear that."  
  
Buffy saw Willow walk by with Oz. "Certainly gonna put a strain on Willow and Oz's relationship."  
  
Xander shook his head. "What relationship? I mean, what life could they possibly have together? We're talking obedience school, paper training, Oz is always in back burying their things, and that kind of breed can turn on its owner."  
  
After his little rant, Buffy continued to give Xander a death glare. He sighed. "I don't know, maybe its just me being all protective. I mean it's my Willow, what happens if he breaks her heart?"  
  
Buffy smiled at the couple. "I don't know. I kinda see Oz as the loyal type."  
  
Xander looked over his shoulder to see Willow smiling at Oz. Oz looked over and met Xander's gaze and nodded. Xander nodded and turned back around to his unfinished salami sandwich. He looked up to see Buffy looking at him with a little smile. "What was that?"  
  
Xander took a bite. "What was what?"  
  
Buffy maintained her smile, she knew what it was, but wanted to hear it. "That, the manly-man look between you and Oz."  
  
Xander shook his head and took another bite of his sandwich. "I don't know, ask Larry."  
  
He looked up to see a very confused slayer pop another pretzel into her mouth. He smiled and took one of her pretzels, earning him a death glare. He sighed to himself. There were thing he knew and didn't know, mostly the latter. No specifics, but an overwhelming sense of dread, but at the same time hope. He knew things could be okay.  
  
He turned back to see Oz and Willow laughing and talking. He grinned and took another pretzel, this time earning him a punch to the shoulder. He rubbed the sore spot. Buffy didn't have to put a little slayer strength in it. He sat there in thought for a second. As much as things were looking down, he knew that they could weather it. It would be hard. There would be pain. But they could win.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1991 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved  
  
Hey, I'm your life; I'm the one who takes you there.  
  
Hey, I'm your life; I'm the one who cares.  
  
They, They betray, I'm your only true friend now.  
  
They, They'll betray, I'm forever there.  
  
I'm your dream, make you real.  
  
I'm your eyes when you must steal.  
  
I'm your pain when you can't feel.  
  
Sad but true.  
  
I'm your dream, mind astray.  
  
I'm your eyes while you're away.  
  
I'm your pain while you repay.  
  
You know it's sad but true.  
  
You, You're my mask; You're my cover, my shelter.  
  
You, You're my mask; You're the one who's blamed.  
  
Do, Do my work, Do my dirty work, scapegoat.  
  
Do, Do my deeds, For you're the one who's shamed.  
  
I'm your dream, make you real.  
  
I'm your eyes when you must steal.  
  
I'm your pain when you can't feel.  
  
Sad but true.  
  
I'm your dream, mind astray.  
  
I'm your eyes while you're away.  
  
I'm your pain while you repay.  
  
You know it's sad but true.  
  
I'm your dream,  
  
I'm your eyes,  
  
I'm your pain,  
  
You know it's sad but true.  
  
Hate, I'm your hate; I'm your hate when you want love.  
  
Pay, Pay the price, Pay, for nothing's fair.  
  
Hey, I'm your life; I'm the one who took you here.  
  
Hey, I'm your life, And I no longer care.  
  
I'm your dream, make you real.  
  
I'm your eyes when you must steal.  
  
I'm your pain when you can't feel.  
  
Sad but true.  
  
I'm your truth, telling lies.  
  
I'm your reasoned alibis.  
  
I'm inside, open your eyes.  
  
I'm you.  
  
Sad but true. 


	11. Eye of the Beholder 1

-'Eye of the Beholder.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the continuation of Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander made up his mind. Willow was happy with Oz, so he could be happy for her. Buffy was not in any place to be in any kind of relationship, besides, although he felt the familiar heartstrings for her, he knew that she would never feel the same way about him. Cordelia actually returned those same feelings for him. He wasn't exactly sure how their relationship started, or how it would finish, but he genuinely cared for her. He could, maybe, actually love her. He smiled as he walked through the graveyard with Buffy. He enjoyed the company, and he needed to make sure that he could protect the blonde slayer. Besides, he needed her opinion.  
  
Xander held up the necklace. "So, what do you think?"  
  
Buffy sat on a gravestone and took it from him, admiring it. "It's nice."  
  
Xander walked around the freshly dug grave and approached her. "But do you think Cordelia will like it?"  
  
Buffy shook her head. "I don't know."  
  
She pulled it toward herself to take a closer look and pointed to the heart. "Does she know what one of these is?"  
  
He yanked it out of her hand and put it and his hands into his jacket pockets. He gave her a sarcastic smile. "Okay, ha ha, very funny. I'll let you know that underneath all of that angry, sarcastic, feminine, sexy...  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes and slapped him upside the head.  
  
*Thwack*  
  
"OW! When are you guys gonna stop hitting me there?" he rubbed the back of his head gingerly. "I swear I'm gonna have a bald spot within a week at this rate."  
  
Buffy smiled sweetly at Xander. "I'm sorry. But...hmmm, never." Xander smiled and shook his head while Buffy continued. "It's just with Cordelia, I dunno. I just think you could find somebody more...better."  
  
Xander gave a small chuckle. "Uh, parallel universe, maybe."  
  
Buffy looked over her shoulder as a lone vampire bum-rushed the duo. She threw her stake and dusted him about twelve feet away.  
  
Xander exhaled and continued, "Man, that was anti-climactic."  
  
Buffy smiled a little too hard before continuing. "I'm glad that you guys are getting along. Almost really, kinda, sorta. But don't stress over the gift, its perfect, if she wont take it, she's crazy...er"  
  
Xander smiled and looked up at the sky. "Well, this is new territory for me. I mean, my Valentines Day is usually met with heartfelt restraining orders, police citations, and/or," Xander pointed to the back of his head, "getting hit."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Well you shouldn't worry about the locket, she'll love it."  
  
Xander walked to the other side of the grave as the dirt on the grave began to move. "I wish dating was like slaying you know, simple, direct, stake to the heart, no muss, no fuss."  
  
He turned to face her again just as a vampire rose from the fresh grave. Xander reacted quickly and took a stake out, leaving his pistol in the back of his pants, where Buffy can't see it. Buffy jumped down from the tombstone and stood back as the newly risen vampire clawed her way out of the grave. Xander looked at Buffy, "May I?" Buffy shook her head, "Nah, I need to work off some steam tonight."  
  
Buffy leapt at the vampire spinning into a double kick to his chest with both feet in rapid succession and landed upright as the vampire staggered back into another tombstone. Buffy charged him, but he blocked her first two punches and ducked a third swing. She switched tactics and kicked him in the testicles and followed up with a right uppercut, knocking the vamp down for the count. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a stake, and quickly plunged it into his chest, turning the vamp into a cloud of dust  
  
Buffy yanked the stake back and watched with satisfaction as the ash fell to the ground. She walked over to Xander who shuddered. "Did you have to go for the nads? I mean I'm standing right here. You shouldn't do that infront of guys, it's just not right."  
  
Buffy placed a stray hair back into place. "Sorry to say, Xand, slaying is a tad more perilous than dating."  
  
They started to walk out of the cemetery.  
  
Xander smirked. "Well, you're obviously not dating Cordelia."  
  
He then stopped and smiled, "Oh, but if you were."  
  
*Thwack*  
  
"Ow! Come on, is EVERYONE allowed to hit me?"  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat in the back of American Literature. He smiled as Willow and Buffy sat next to him. He held up his paper and leaned over to Willow. "Ha, ha, ha. This time I'm ready for you Ms Beakman. No 'F' for Xander today. No way, this baby's my ticket to a sweet D-minus."  
  
The girls rolled their eyes. Xander didn't mind being a goofball. Before, it was a defense mechanism, now it was more of misdirection, who would ever take 'idiot Jed' seriously? Ms. Beakman stood up to address the class. "Papers on my desk. Anybody tries to leave without giving me a paper is looking at a failing grade. So come on kids."  
  
Xander smiled as he stood with his paper in his hands. He actually spent a decent amount of time on his paper on 'On the Road' by Kerouac. He worked hard on it, and between the slaying and his other late night activities, it took up most of the rest of his time. Everyone in class got in a line to turn in their papers. Willow stepped down the aisle and stopped next to Amy.  
  
"Hey, Amy."  
  
Amy smiled as she pulled on her backpack. "Are you guys going to the Valentine's Day dance at the Bronze? I think it's gonna be a lot of fun."  
  
Willow turned to Buffy with a huge smile on her face. Buffy smiled and patted her shoulder. "Go ahead. You know you wanna say it."  
  
Willow turned to face Amy again, grinning broadly. "My boyfriend's in the band!"  
  
Amy smiled and laughed. "Cool."  
  
Xander leaned in and nudged Willow from behind Amy. "That's about it Will, I think you've now told everybody."  
  
Willow pulled her backpack up and grinned. "Nah, I still have to hit Europe and Indonesia."  
  
Amy turned to Buffy. "What about you?"  
  
Buffy waved her off. "Oh, Valentine's Day is just a cheap gimmick to sell cards and chocolate."  
  
Amy shook her head. "Bad breakup, huh?"  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe it."  
  
Finally, They stood infront of the teacher's desk, Buffy turned in her paper.  
  
Mrs. Beakman took the paper. "Thank you."  
  
Buffy headed out of the room as Willow held up her paper as well.  
  
Mrs. Beakman smiled at Willow. "Thank you."  
  
Willow followed Buffy out. Amy stood in front of Mrs. Beakman and stared her down. Xander stood behind Amy and slowly lost his smile. Mrs. Beakman smiled at Amy and took an invisible paper from her.  
  
Mrs. Beakman smiled blankly. "Thank you, Amy."  
  
Amy smiled and started out of the classroom. Xander walked up to the desk staring open-mouthed and handed his paper in also. "Um, Mrs. Beakman?"  
  
The teacher didn't even look up. "There's no extra credit Xander."  
  
Xander shook his head and walked out of class. "Never mind."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander stood inside the Bronze. There had been a lot going on in his life lately. He wanted to be sure that he was doing the right thing. He was scared. Having someone that actually reciprocated and valued his feelings was nice. It made him feel good. It made him feel worth something. He looked up and saw Cordelia sitting at a table alone. He smiled. 'She looks beautiful.' He got up the courage and walked over to her.  
  
Cordelia looked up to see Xander start to walk over and stood up to meet him. 'It's okay girl. You _need_ to do this.'  
  
Xander smiled widely. "Hey."  
  
Cordelia looked him up and down. "Your clothes... You look so good." 'Why did he have to make it so hard?'  
  
Xander looked down at himself. "Oh. I let Buffy and Mrs. Summers dress me." Cordelia gave him a rather odd look. "What? Oh, not physically, but they showed me what to wear."  
  
Cordelia muttered under her breath. "Perfect. You had to make this harder, didn't you?"  
  
Xander took a step back. "Okay, clearly the fact that I please you visually has got us off on the wrong foot here."  
  
Cordelia took his hand. "Xander..."  
  
Xander stopped her with a gesture. "Let me finish. I've been thinking a lot about us lately... the why and the wherefore. There's been a lot going on lately with me and with everyone else, but also with us. I mean between us. You know, once, twice, a kiss here, a kiss there. And you can chalk it all up to hormones. A-and maybe that's all we have here. Tawdry teen lust, but maybe not. Maybe something in you sees something special inside me. And vice versa. I mean, I think I do. See something. So..."  
  
He pulled out the jewelry box and handed it to her. She took it and looked up at him.  
  
Cordelia tried to hold back her tears. "Xander..." she opened the box, "Thank you." She held up the necklace and pendant. "It's beautiful."  
  
Xander grinned. "I knew you'd love it."  
  
Cordelia exhaled. "I wanna break up."  
  
Xander's face fell. "Huh?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just... Who are we kidding?" Xander looked down at the necklace. "Even if parts of us do see specialness, we don't fit."  
  
Xander felt the shiver in the back of his mind and looked up suddenly. "Yeah! Okay... Do you know what's a good day to break up with somebody? Any day besides Valentine's Day! I mean, what, were you running low on dramatic irony?"  
  
Cordelia looked at him apologetically. "I know. I didn't mean to do it this way. I..."  
  
Xander did his best to hold it back. "Do you know how long I had to save up for this? How hard I worked? Between the slaying and the whole thing with Angel, and the sleepless nights and everything else. God, I _wanted_ you. I wanted you to like me. I thought you might actually fucking care for me. YOU care for ME. I can't believe that I actually believed someone would fucking think that I was anything else than a little dishrag for their emotions"  
  
Cordelia bit her lip, she would not cry, not infront of him, not now. "Xander, I didn't..."  
  
Xander felt the shiver over come him and interrupted her. "Well, you did."  
  
Cordelia closed her eyes and tried to compose herself, when she opened them, he was gone. 


	12. Eye of the Beholder 2

-'Eye of the Beholder.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the continuation of Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Bolo, Layce, hatten, Nodakskip, Rob, hell anyone and everyone. And nonamemonkey, thanks for the spectacularly long review. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated; I'll try to keep the transitions smoother and the details flowing. I'm gonna try to finish 'Pirates of the Hellmouth' before posting more of this story, hopefully, it'll be done by (ironically) Halloween or so.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
A newly risen vampire in Sunnydale was having a bad day.  
  
Xander grabbed the vampire by the neck threw it into a tombstone. "I mean how could she?"  
  
A _very_ bad day.  
  
After the incident at the Bronze, Xander decided to take a lesson from Buffy and let out his frustrations on the undead. He went home and changed into his patrol clothes, or as he called them, his 'nighties', consisting of dark tan khakis, navy blue shirt, and black jacket. He looked at the downed vampire before continuing. "I worked my _ass_ off trying to buy her that locket and she just fucking dumps me on VALENTINES DAY!"  
  
The fledgling got up and shook his head. "Women suck man, if it wasn't the vamps that got me, my girlfriend would've put me in the ground sooner or later."  
  
Xander looked at the vampire and nodded his head. "I thought she might actually care for me."  
  
The vampire tried to punch Xander in the chest. "Women are like that."  
  
Xander dodged to the side and kicked the vamp in ribs. "I know, I just wish that she would actually know what its like to feel."  
  
The vamp snorted and landed a punch to Xander's face. "Good luck buddy."  
  
Xander's eyes glowed yellow and he smiled at the vamp. He pulled out a pistol and shot its kneecaps out. The vamp fell to the floor screaming in agony. Xander walked over and readied his stake. "Thanks, you've been very therapeutic." He dusted the vamp and walked out of the cemetery.  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander walked through the halls of Sunnydale High school the next day wearing his usual Hawaiian shirts and blue jeans. A boy patted him on the shoulder as he passed by. "Dude, way to get dumped."  
  
Xander shook his head. He could handle the looks, the points, and the laughs; he just didn't want anyone's pity. He looked up and saw Buffy coming the other way. 'Well, maybe _someone's_ pity.'  
  
Xander grabbed Buffy's hand and stopped her. "Hey, Buffy, you will not believe..."  
  
Buffy ripped her hand away and looked at him. "Can't talk right now. Angel."  
  
Xander nodded and walked with her. "Do you need help?"  
  
Buffy shook her head and waved him off. "It's alright."  
  
Xander watches her walk towards the library, and started to walk after her. A group of girls passed around him, staring and giggling at him. He exhaled and watched them go. A few steps further along he heard Harmony. "Gee, Xander, maybe you should learn a second language so that even more girls can reject you."  
  
Xander turned around. "Nah, I just need to save a couple of dollars, then I'm sure I could pay for your services."  
  
Harmony gasped and walked briskly away. He walked along the hallway seeing more people just staring at him. A moment later he noticed Amy in a light green sweater heading toward the stairs in front of him. He looked back for an instant and then rushed over to her.  
  
"Hey Amy."  
  
Amy looked at him. "Hey Xander, I heard about what happened with Cordelia..."  
  
Xander looked around quickly before pulling her into an empty classroom. "Yeah, good to see you too. You're a witch."  
  
Amy's eyes widened as she glanced around and smiled nervously. "No, that, that was my mom, remember? Its me, Amy, I don't do spells or magic."  
  
Xander shook his head. "I saw you working that mojo on Mrs. Beakman. I have nothing against witches. Will is a witch. Ms. Calendar is a witch, see, good witches. But working spells so you don't have to do homework, methinks that's not very good. Now what I need is for my good little witch friend to do me a favor."  
  
Amy held onto his arm and glared at him. "Maybe Mrs. Beakman was being nice."  
  
Xander kept on talking. "Now a bad little witch friend who doesn't do me a favor, well..."  
  
Amy growled. "AARGG, that's just...mean."  
  
Xander smiled and sat her down. "You know Amy, blackmail is such an ugly word for such a pretty girl."  
  
Amy looked confused for a second. "You think I'm... wait, I didn't say blackmail."  
  
Xander smiled. "Yeah, but I'm blackmailing you, so I thought I'd bring it up."  
  
Amy sighed and folded her arms. "What do you want?"  
  
Xander chuckled. "What do I want? I want, for _once_, not to be the freaking buttmonkey. You and me, Amy..." he looked out the door window to see Cordelia walk by with Harmony, "we're gonna cast a little spell."  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
Amy nodded understandingly, "So you don't want a love spell."  
  
Xander shook his head. "Not exactly. She doesn't love me, fine. She doesn't care about me, fine. I can live with that. All I want is for her to feel what I felt. I want her to go through the same hell she's been putting _me_ through. Like a simple empathy spell or something. It's like kharma, what goes around, comes around."  
  
Amy considered it for a moment and then got up. "Well, empathy spells aren't that tricky." She grinned at Xander. "And because its Cordelia, I might not feel that bad about doing it." She sighed and walked over to him. "Still, I'll need something of hers, a personal object, but something connected to you, like a picture or a gift."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander waited in the hallway for her. He knew that she had cheerleading practice and would be getting out about this time. They used to meet just down the hall and to the left. The janitor's closet. Hell, for the past few weeks, every time he walked past the corridor, he'd have a huge guilty grin on his face. Several times Buffy or Willow had to slap him upside the head just to bring him back to reality. Now, every time he saw it, all he wanted to do was just crawl up into it and die. He sighed and looked at his watch. 'Five more minutes until practice lets out.' All he had to do was just wait by her locker. He saw Cordelia come out from a corner. He had a slight smile as he watched her walk down the hallway in her cheerleader uniform, with her head a magazine. His smiled dropped when she picked her head up and spotted him. She spun around and started to hurry the other way.  
  
Xander growled and sprinted around the corner to catch up and pass her. He spun around to stop her in her tracks.  
  
Xander held a strait face. "Oh, come on, don't flatter yourself. I'm not gonna make a big scene. I just want the necklace back."  
  
Cordelia stared at him in disbelief. "What? I thought it was a gift."  
  
Xander tried to keep his anger in check, but felt the low growl escape his throat. "No. Last night it was a gift. I worked long and hard to pay for it, and since it doesn't hold any value for me, I figure I can just hand it back, after all, I kept the receipt."  
  
Cordelia's eyes widened in shock. "You kept the _receipt_?"  
  
Xander's eyes narrowed. "I _kept_ the _receipt_."  
  
Xander didn't mean for the venom in his voice to come out, but he needed to rush this along.  
  
Cordelia stammered. "You're pathetic!"  
  
Xander clenched his mouth. "Come on, I'm not gonna add to the Cordelia Chase castoff collection. I don't think there's any room left between the jocks, the frat boys, and half the state. Besides, after I worked so hard to save up for it, I might as well have something to show for it."  
  
Cordelia glared at him. "It's in my locker."  
  
Xander crossed his arms. "I can wait."  
  
She gave him another look, and then walked over to her locker. Xander stepped to the side of the hall and leaned against the lockers several lockers infront of her.  
  
She opened the locker and glanced over at him to see if he's looking. "Excuse me!"  
  
Xander glared at her. "What?"  
  
"Turn around, I don't want you knowing my combination."  
  
Xander sighed and turned around. Satisfied that he wasn't paying close attention, she leaned in behind the locker door, and reached under the collar of her blouse. She pulled the necklace and pendant out. She sighed and stared into her locker mirror for a second to make sure there were no tears.  
  
"Done yet?"  
  
She closed her locker, stepped over to him and handed him the necklace.  
  
Cordelia slipped back into venom mode. "Here. It's a good thing we broke up. Now I don't have to pretend I like it."  
  
Xander felt the remaining embers in his heart snuff out as he walked away. Before he turned the corner he yelled back at Cordelia. "Pretend to like it, or pretend to like me?"  
  
The cheerleader felt a few tears roll down her face before walking out to her car.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat down at the lab table and handed the locket to Amy. "So that's it, no big ceremony, no holding a candle and sitting bare-chested and cross- legged on the floor inside a large red symbol on the floor with three red vertical stripes are painted on my chest."  
  
Amy gave Xander a confused look and shook her head before setting up the lab beakers containing several potions. "No, this is just a simple empathy spell. No half nakedness." Xander faked hurt. "Sorry Xander. It loosely ties some of your soul's excess energy to another person, but how do you know about the ritual to invoke Diana, the goddess of the hunt?"  
  
"You know what my friends and I do right?"  
  
Amy nodded as she sat down opposite him.  
  
Xander gave her a smirk. "Well, we research a lot of occult and spell books, and there is no way any guy I know wouldn't look up a love spell if he had the chance."  
  
Amy chuckled and looked at the necklace in her hand. "You know Xander I think that Cordelia was nuts." She stood and put a hand on his shoulder as he got up. "It's a beautiful necklace."  
  
Xander turned to leave and gave her a soft smile. "Keep it when you're done. It should go to someone with a heart."  
  
Amy smiled sweetly before going back to setting up the spell. 


	13. Eye of the Beholder 3

-'Eye of the Beholder.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: okay, to explain empathy, if someone has empathy, they feel what you feel: anger, self-loathing, lust, happiness, protectiveness, fear... etc just any emotions that someone is having. Not to mention that if you feel too many things at once, you'll probably go nuts. And for the sake of argument and of this story, confusion is a state of mind, not an emotion.  
  
A/N 4: A lot is going on in this part. I hope I covered it well.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander was back in the dark room. "Oh great, where's cryptic guy and his chairs? I wonder if he wants to play yahtzee this time?"  
  
A voice came from behind him. "You have to let go."  
  
He turned to see the man standing and looking into space. Xander started walking towards him. "Yeah, I guess I should let go of Cordy, but I just wanted to let her know how it feels for once. Let her be the one used and thrown away."  
  
The man disappeared into the darkness. Xander turned around. "Okay, we didn't talk about _this_ last time."  
  
The man appeared to his left. "Unknowns change the equation."  
  
Xander nearly jumped out of his skin. "JESUS! Don't do that!"  
  
The man disappeared and then stood behind him. "Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."  
  
Xander's face fell. "Oh God, don't tell me..."  
  
He heard the man's voice to his right. He turned to face him again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."  
  
Xander looked at him. The man wasn't even looking anywhere near Xander. He was just staring off into space. "You're not really here."  
  
The man reappeared several feet behind him holding a glass of water. "...and we're technically not here, it still kinda helps you talk after a while."  
  
Xander tilted his head and looked at the man. "You're an echo."  
  
The man reappeared inches behind Xander, smirking with the same expression again. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."  
  
Xander jumped back a little. "Yes we've been over that. So what's happening now, why are you here?"  
  
The man appeared to his left. "YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you."  
  
Xander sighed. "Yeah, I got that memo."  
  
The man appeared before him and seemed to look strait into his eyes. "This could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."  
  
The man then appeared right behind Xander and whispered into his left ear. "You'll remember bits and pieces now and then. But not all of it."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander woke with a start. He turned over to look at the clock. 'Crap, its 7:06. I'm gonna be late.'  
  
He jumped up and grabbed a pair of black jeans and a light blue Hawaiian shirt before running out the door.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander growled as he ran. He didn't know what happened last night. It was like the first dream he had. He could only remember fragments. Trying to remember felt like trying to push cement through a funnel. He slowed as he saw Cordy and the rest of the popular girls walk into school.  
  
Cordelia saw him coming and put her best game face on. "What?"  
  
Xander straitened his back out and tried to appear confident, but he couldn't help but still feel hurt and angry. "Morning, ladies." He turned to Cordelia. "Some kind of weather we've been having, huh?"  
  
Cordelia gave him a death glare. "What do you want? God, I already gave you back that S-mart looking thing."  
  
Xander chuckled and leaned in to Cordelia. "Is this guilt or hurt...anything? 'Cause maybe on you it doesn't look that different."  
  
Cordelia pushed him away and growled at him. "Are you going, like, stalker- boy on me now? Gonna be all 'please take me back, I cant live without you?' God you're pathetic." She pulled out her cell phone. "I'm gonna call the police if you don't get your Sears-shopping, blue-light-special ass out right now."  
  
Xander felt his hurt melt away, being replaced by anger. He clenched his teeth and walked away. "Sorry, my mistake."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander walked into the library to see Giles and Buffy. He took a seat at the end of the table. "I have a plan: I go into the warehouse and tell all the vamps about my life. They'll be so moved that they'll dust themselves."  
  
Giles commented as he walked between the stacks. "While I'm sure that the recent... romantic troubles are grounds for self-staking, I don't believe that the vampires will give you a chance to speak."  
  
Xander's head hit the table with a loud thud; his voice was still rough with anger. "Okay, then we'll still stick with plan A and just let them kill me."  
  
Buffy got up and sneered at him. "Yeah. I heard about you and Cordy. I figured it was going to happen sooner or later."  
  
Xander was surprised by the level of venom in her voice. "Hey, I knew that you and I weren't exactly on the same page when it came to Cordy, but you don't have to be mean about it."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. "Well, I have to say 'I told you so Xander.' I mean, come on, the Princess Bitch? God, I never thought you'd actually sink that low. I didn't want to say anything, but we all know how that ended. I mean, you gotta _pay_ for those services."  
  
Xander stopped her with his hand. "Okay, uh..." He looked around for a second to see any hidden cameras before shaking her hand. "Hi, I'm Xander, Xander Harris, have you seen a nice, sweet, cute little blonde running around by the name of Buffy Summers, because you sure aren't _her_."  
  
Buffy growled and sneered at him. "Just because you got dumped by an egotistical bitch, don't go blaming it on me. I was trying to look out for you. Its not my fault you had to go for someone so totally out of your league."  
  
Xander was about to shout that he didn't think he should be getting dating advice from someone that had sex with a vampire when he realized that Buffy could punch him into the next week. He sighed and looked at the blond slayer. She still had a slight grimace.  
  
Buffy seemed out of it for a second before she smiled and looked into his eyes. "I don't know, I just heard that you and Cordy broke up, and I guess I was just surprised how glad I was." She reached forward with her hand and started playing with his shirt. She bit her bottom lip and leaned into him. "It's funny how you can see someone every day but not really see them. You know?"  
  
Xander chuckled nervously and pushed her away. "Oh, yeah its funny. Hilarious even."  
  
Giles appeared from behind the stacks. "Buffy, has there been an increase in the amount of risings as of late?"  
  
Buffy sighed and leaned back as the British librarian interrupted her.  
  
"I believe that because of the recent...ah, addition of Angelus, there should be a whole legion of fledglings that have been sired by Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla."  
  
Buffy didn't even turn to face Giles, and continued to give Xander an increasingly lustful stare. "Sorry Giles, but I think I've only been getting the leftovers every night for the past two weeks."  
  
Xander stiffened, and decided that he should be somewhere else. He looked at his watch. "Hey, look at the time."  
  
Buffy looked at the clock on the wall. "It's about ten minutes till school ends."  
  
Xander nodded as he backed out the door. "Yep, don't want to be late."  
  
He shook his head. He was _not_ going down that road with her again. No way in hell. He turned around to see Amy walking down the hall and jogged over. "Amy, can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
Amy looked a little annoyed but stopped walking and turned around. "What do _you_ want?"  
  
Xander looked back into the library. "I don't think the spell worked out right."  
  
Amy rolled her eyes and continued walking. "Oh, yeah, it bombed. No biggie. Maybe next time a girl leaves you, you wont have to resort to magic. See ya later, loser."  
  
Xander ran infront of her and stopped her. "No, I think the spell worked, but didn't do what it was supposed to. I mean, one second Buffy, _BUFFY_, was all angry and mean to me, the next she wanted to hop in my lap and smear chocolate all over me."  
  
Xander smiled and stood there for a second. "Actually, maybe I should go back in."  
  
Amy's eyes glazed over as she walked closer to him. "Xander."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Amy?"  
  
Amy smiled and looked up at Xander. "Well, we can always try again."  
  
Xander gave her a questioning look. "I don't think doing the 'fuck with Xander's friends' spell again will help. I mean, look at Buffy."  
  
He looked back through the library window and saw Buffy looking out at him with a lustful stare. Xander turned around to see if she was looking at someone behind him.  
  
Amy walked a little closer to him. "I am still pretty new at this."  
  
Xander turned to face her. "I know, it was wrong to meddle with the forces of darkness. I was just hurt, okay?" He looked back in to possibly see drool start to form at the corner of Buffy's mouth. "But I think I should probably go and let things die down maybe." Xander made a move to go away.  
  
Amy stopped him with her hand. "Oh, we don't have to cast any spells."  
  
Xander looked back into the library and saw Buffy staring out at him with her finger between her lips. He shook his head trying to clear it. "Uh huh."  
  
Amy tried to get his attention. "We can just... hang out."  
  
Xander looked at Amy. "What?"  
  
Amy smiled. "Well, I liked spending time with you. You're so sweet. You know, it's funny how you can... you can see a person every day and..."  
  
Xander felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Buffy walked out. "...not really see them."  
  
Buffy walked over and stood between Xander and Amy. "Excuse me, Xander, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."  
  
Amy tapped her shoulder. "Do you mind? We were talking."  
  
Buffy turned around and snarled as she took his right arm. "Yeah, well _my_ best friend Xander was just about ready to come back into the library for some _studying_"  
  
Amy took a step forward and growled as she took his left arm. "That's funny, _my_ new friend Xander and I were just talking about hanging out later."  
  
Xander felt the cold shiver flow through the back of his head. The girls' eyes glowed yellow as they both turned to him. "Xander?"  
  
'Ohhhhhh crap.' 


	14. Eye of the Beholder 4

-'Eye of the Beholder.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander rushed into his house and ran up the stairs.  
  
'Crap, crap, crap, crap.'  
  
He barged into his room and slammed the door behind him. He sat on the bed and sighed. Behind him, the covers stirred. Xander felt the mattress shift and turned to see and Willow sit up from under the covers wearing one of his shirts. Willow smiled seductively, "Sorry. I wanted to surprise you."  
  
Xander jumped out of the bed in surprise and stares at her in shock. "Good job! Whoo, You got me there."  
  
Willow pushed the covers up and crawled over to him. "Don't be so jumpy. I've been in your bed before."  
  
Xander stammered. "Yeah, but Will, we were watching Care Bears and playing with Legos."  
  
Willow blushed and moved closer. "Xander, I've been thinking."  
  
Xander fidgeted. "Will, that's you you're a thinker. You, you're smart, I should know. I'm not smart. I am very, very, _VERY_ stupid, but I think I know what you've been thinking. But this is all, all my fault. I cast a spell, and it sort of backfired."  
  
Willow rubbed the sheets. "How long have we known each-other?"  
  
Xander became even more nervous. "A long, long time. Too long to do anything that might change that now. Once again, I have to stress the longness of this situation."  
  
Willow moved to the edge of the bed and smiled up at him. "Well, friendships change all the time. People grow apart. They grow closer."  
  
Xander took a step back. "Yep, they sure do. Hell, I feel very comfortable with this amount of closeness. In fact," he pointed behind himself, "I can even back up a little and still be happy." He took two more steps back and smiled nervously. "See?"  
  
She got up from the bed and slowly approached him. Xander looked down and saw that his shirt was the only thing she's wearing. 'Oh God.'  
  
He started to back up more when she reached him. She put her hands up against his chest. "Shhh. We both know it's right."  
  
He backed into the door as she leaned into him for a kiss. Xander backed his head away. "It's not that I don't find you sexy."  
  
Willow leaned away to look at him. "Is it Oz? Don't worry about him. He's sweet, but...he's not you."  
  
She started to rubs his chest again. Xander held her hands up and grinned fanatically. "Yes, he is. And you should go to him. 'Cause he's me, and I'm him, we switched you see. Right now, I'm out there, you should go find me. I know I would find me."  
  
She leaned up to the side of his face and started to kiss his earlobe, making all Xander speech come out in vowels. "Oaua uayyyu iieo"  
  
Willow smiled and nestled into his neck. "Do you know how long I've wanted this Xander?"  
  
Xander shook his head nervously and slowly started trying to pry the redhead off of him. "Noooo, can't say that I do. But probably since last night or so. That's when everyone else started wanting it."  
  
Willow grinned evilly and hit him. "You know that I've wanted you since we were six. I can feel it. I can feel everything inside of you, but don't worry. I already knew you..." Willow's hand slowly started to reach downwards. "...inside, " Her hand hovered over his jeans button for a second. "...and out."  
  
Xander sighed. He _had_ been having... some of those thoughts about Willow, but he knew that even if she really wanted it, it was still wrong. She leaned forward and started to nibble on his earlobe again. "I dreamt about you Xander. Every night since we were little, I wanted you. Sometimes I would just lie in bed fantasizing about being with you."  
  
Xander found himself able to speak again. "I-I don't wanna use force."  
  
Xander felt the cold chill spread through his body like lightning. She let go of his ear and leaned back to face him again with a feral smile on her face.  
  
Willow growled as her eyes became an eerie yellow. "Mm. Force is okay!"  
  
She leaned around and bit his ear, Xander screamed in pain and pushed her away. She stared at him in confusion.  
  
Xander's eyes glowed yellow back. He felt the mate within Willow. It called to him. Xander felt her need in the back of him mind. He could smell it. Willow growled again and lunged at him. Xander caught her arms and threw her onto the bed. "That's it! This has gotta stop. It's time for me to..."  
  
Willow started to lift up her shirt. Xander opened the door behind him and ran out. "...run away."  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander ran to the library. "GILES, GILES!!"  
  
Giles walked out from his office and set his books down on the table. "Xander. What is it?"  
  
Xander panted. "It, it's me... throwing myself at your mercy."  
  
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. "What? Why?"  
  
Xander sighed. "Well, several things. Remember the hyena?"  
  
Giles took a step back. "Stay right here Xander. I-I just need to go back into my office."  
  
Xander rolled his eyes. "Giles, I know you keep the spare tranq gun in the office, but it's not me," 'Well not _really_,' Xander reasoned, "all the girls in Sunnydale, they got the horny hyena running around in their head and they want to make me their bitch, in both or either ways."  
  
Giles' jaw dropped. "What? The hyena?"  
  
Xander nodded as he went back into the office. Giles shook his head and followed him. "I don't understand. The only way for the hyena spirit to inhabit anyone is through a series of intense rituals followed by a predatory act. And besides, the hyena spirit no longer resides in you."  
  
Xander walked out of the office with the two tranquilizer guns and tossed one to Giles. "Nope, no its not. But is wanting to rip my clothes off and wanting to play sticky naked twister count as a predatory act?"  
  
Giles caught the gun and looked it over. "Yes, I believe so, but they would still need some sort of connection and either a focusing location or object in order to transfer the spirit."  
  
Xander checked the tranq gun. "What else would be considered a predatory act?"  
  
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. "A, um defending your territory or mate, the umm _mating_ process, but even so, why would the girls be after you in the first place?"  
  
Xander sighed. "I made a mess, Giles. See, after Cordy ripped out my heart and stomped on it, I found out that Amy's into witchcraft. I wanted to teach her a lesson, so I got Amy to do this little spell..."  
  
Giles face darkened. "Amy?"  
  
"Amy suggested the spell. She said that it wasn't tricky or anything."  
  
Giles groaned. "A love spell?"  
  
Xander laughed. "God no, I'm not that stupid. It was just something to make Cordy feel what I felt, but now every woman in Sunnydale wants to make me her cuddle monkey, which may sound really nice on paper, but see, it was an empathy spell."  
  
Giles sighed and began looking for some books. "Well, if it _were_ still in you, a spell that enhances or simply uses some of your soul's excess energy could have an effect like what you are describing, but there are so many variables, I don't see how. It would still be a million to one chance that..."  
  
He was interrupted when Ms. Calendar came into the library behind them and walked up to Giles. "Rupert, we need to talk. Hey, Xander. Nice shirt."  
  
Giles gave Xander a look, while Jenny started to rub his shirt. "Look, Rupert, I know that you're angry at me, and I don't blame you, but I am not just gonna go away. I mean, I care far too much about you to..." She stopped and looked at Xander's arm. "Have you been working out?"  
  
Xander looked back at Jenny and pushed her off. Her eyes glowed yellow. Xander turned back to Giles to explain further when he saw the librarian's eyes change amber behind his glasses. "Oh crap."  
  
Giles growled and stepped toward Xander. "Jenny is mine."  
  
Xander backed up a step. "Oh crap."  
  
Giles grabbed Ms. Calendar and flung her over his shoulder and ran out of the library. Ms. Calendar squealed. "OH RUPERT!"  
  
Xander looked at their retreating figures. "Oh...crap?"  
  
Several seconds of silence elapsed as Xander stood alone in the library. "I don't know whether to be happy or very, very disturbed."  
  
Xander shook his head and quickly moved to push the mobile card catalog in front of the doors in an attempt to keep people out. As he headed back toward the table Buffy pulled the door out and open and stepped in wearing only a short black raincoat that reached barely down to mid-thigh and black high heels. When Xander heard the door swing shut, he grabbed the tranq gun and spun around.  
  
Buffy stood with one hand on the catalog and the other propped up on top of the theft detector. She smiled at him. "Alone at last."  
  
Xander stared open-mouthed. "Jesus Buff, give me a stroke!"  
  
Buffy started a sexy walk toward him and began to untie her belt. "Oh, I'm gonna give you much more than a little _stroke_."  
  
Xander backed away, gesturing with his hands. "Buff, for the love of God, in the name of all that is holy, don't open that raincoat."  
  
Buffy undid a button and leaned toward him. "Come on! It's a party! Aren't you gonna open your present?"  
  
Xander kept backing toward the stairs nervously. "Yeah, well, it's my party and I can cry if I want to, but for crying out loud, please don't open that raincoat. It's not that I don't want to. Part of me does. Part of me really, really, _really_, does. So badly that I went through so much Kleenex that I decided to buy in bulk. But not now. Not like this. This isn't real to you."  
  
Xander tripped over the first step and Buffy stepped up and put her leg over him. Xander swallowed nervously and shook his head. "You're only here because of a spell. I mean, if I thought you had one clue what it would mean to me...or what it would have meant to me... But you don't. So I can't."  
  
Buffy got very upset, her eyes shimmering with amber fury. "So you're saying this is all a game?"  
  
Xander replied shocked. "A game? What the hell are you talking about, does this _look_ like Monopoly to you?"  
  
Buffy growled angrily. "You make me feel this way, and then you reject me? What am I, a toy?"  
  
Xander felt himself get angry. "ME use YOU! Are we forgetting that whole dance at the Bronze to make you psycho undead killer boyfriend jealous?"  
  
Xander felt the temperature in the room drop as he slowly walked towards her. "That's real funny. I am the fucking _doormat_ for the entire female population of Sunnydale. I KNOW what its like to be used and thrown away. And you think that I'm just a goddamned puppy dog, going to follow you around all damn day huh?"  
  
He sighed and turned to walk out of the library. "I don't blame you Buffy, I forgave you a while ago, but just don't accuse me of _ever_ using anyone."  
  
Buffy sprinted infront of him and kicked his legs out from under him. She crouched over his prone position and looked at him hungrily. "I know you want me, I can smell it."  
  
Xander kicked her back onto the second level of the library. "Yeah, well Buff, I do want you, but I'd have to say that it's only as a friend. You know the whole 'friends only' deal."  
  
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he muttered looked into her eyes. Buffy's eyes glowed. She liked the anger, the forcefulness, and kissed him hungrily. Xander felt himself return the kiss. The unrequited lust filled his lungs. He felt the wanting when he first met her. He felt the waiting and uncertainty when he first asked her out. He felt the potential mate in her scream for him to take her. He felt the rejection, the hurt. He stopped and pushed Buffy off of him. Buffy growled and tried to kiss him again. Xander let the cold overtake him as he threw her into a stack of books. She got up and snarled at him. The amber in her eyes forced out all other color. "You _asshole_"  
  
Amy walked into the library with glowing yellow eyes. "Get away from him. He's mine"  
  
Buffy turned towards her. "Oh, I don't think so." She turned back to Xander. "Xander, tell her."  
  
Xander was already halfway down the stairs. He picked up Amy, threw her over his shoulder and grabbed the tranq guns. Amy moaned in lust. "OH XANDER!"  
  
Buffy screamed in anger. "ARRG XANDER!!!!!" 


	15. Eye of the Beholder 5

-'Eye of the Beholder.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman and Sad But True. Xander must remember that spells don't work exactly right on him, where before they were annoying, now could be catastrophic.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander ran out into the hall with Amy over his shoulder rubbing his back profusely and kissing his neck. "Would you, uh, stop that? It's making it hard for me to concentrate."  
  
Amy moaned. "Oh I'd just _hate_ to make it _hard_"  
  
He groaned and turned the corner only to get a strong left jab from Oz. "Ow." He turned to face the musician. "What the hell was that for?"  
  
Oz growled and took a step forward. His face started to get hairy and his features became exaggerated. "I was on the phone all night, listening to Willow cry about _you_. Now, I don't know exactly what happened, but I was left with a very strong urge to... hit you."  
  
Xander rubbed his chin and put Amy down, who immediately pouted and started to grope him. "Well, you did. Good job there Oz ole buddy. Now if you'll excuse me."  
  
Oz howled and lunged at him. Xander dropped to the floor and flipped him over. He grabbed one of the tranq guns he dropped and shot Oz in the leg. Oz let out a small yelp and fell unconscious. "Crap," he turned to Amy "You wanna help me drag him to a classroom?"  
  
Amy bit her bottom lip. "What do I get?"  
  
Xander smiled, playfully, he hoped. "It's a secret."  
  
Amy squealed and they put him into the American Literature 101 classroom. They walked out of the room to see a very ragged Cordelia. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"  
  
Xander held Amy back. "Are you attracted to me in any physical, emotional, or mental way?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head and shouted. "NO!"  
  
Xander turned to Amy. "Good, she's sane."  
  
Amy draped herself over Xander, protecting her territory. Her eyes flashed a bright amber. "Just remember that bitch."  
  
Xander turned back to Cordelia. "What's going on?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "I don't know. I mean one second, we were all laughing and joking, then all of the sudden, all these girls start hitting me and telling me how wrong it was for me to dump you."  
  
Xander felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. He never meant for it to go this far. "I'm sorry Cor, I never..."  
  
She interrupted him with a finger to his lips. "Xander, it made me realize something..."  
  
Amy unlocked the door behind them and threw her into the classroom with the unconscious werewolf. A yellow eyed Cordelia banged on the door window. "Let me out right now you heinous BITCH!"  
  
Xander turned to Amy. "How did you know she was possessed?"  
  
Amy turned back to him. "She was possessed?"  
  
//////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander stopped at his house. He slowly let Amy down and led her inside. "So any way of knowing how to undo this?"  
  
She smiled and purred into his ear. "Undo what?"  
  
Xander, it would seem, had a soft spot right under his earlobe as he was reduced only to making gurgling sounds. "Uggg crrrlahhhhss."  
  
He pushed her off. "I mean, do you remember the spell I asked you to do?"  
  
Amy smiled sweetly. "Yeah, we spent so much time together I think that was when I actually realized..."  
  
Xander muttered under his breath as he walked up to his bedroom with the tranq guns. "Yeah, I think that's when _everyone_ realized."  
  
He walked into the room and placed the tranq guns on the bed. Amy rushed in and pulled Xander to the bed, moaning and panting. Xander tried to fight her off. "I mean, uhh, did you have a focal point or something for the spell?" Amy nibbled on his collarbone. "...or something?"  
  
Amy leaned back on the bed and spoke with a sultry voice. "Lets not talk about spells right now, I want to work our _own_ magic."  
  
Xander groaned. Even _he_ had to admit that line was lame. "No, I mean talking about it gets me all hot and bothered you know?"  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow. She smiled and then got on all fours and crawled forward and spoke with a sexy voice. "Well, I needed the locket..."  
  
Xander's eyes widened. "The locket, do you have the locket?"  
  
Amy smiled softly and placed her hand over her chest. "Always, it was a gift."  
  
Xander nodded excitedly. "Okay, where is it?"  
  
Amy looked confused and patted her chest again. "Right here."  
  
Xander shook his head. "I don't see it."  
  
Amy smiled. "No, I keep it under my shirt, close to my heart."  
  
"Oh, um, can I see it, to you know, and reminisce?"  
  
Amy smirked and leaned back into the bed. "Come and get it."  
  
Xander's jaw dropped. "Um, what?"  
  
Amy pulled his hands to her collarbone. "Xander wants it. Xander go gets it."  
  
Xander's forehead got very sweaty. "Run that by me again?"  
  
Amy pulled him into a passionate kiss. "Kiss me you fool."  
  
Xander complied and slowly worked his way down her shirt. 'Just feel the chain, just feel the chain. AACK that's not the chain.' Finally, he was able to find the pendant and took it off of Amy, who pouted. "Hey."  
  
Xander looked at the necklace with a grin and backed up towards the window. "Good, I can finally end this, we should be safer up here."  
  
An arm came through the window and pulled him out of the room.  
  
Angelus smirked in game face and kicked him off of the roof. "Works in theory."  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
"Where's Buffy?"  
  
Xander landed on the ground with a loud thud. "OOMPHFF."  
  
Angelus leapt down after him and stood over him. "Perfect." He grabbed Xander and pulled him up, "I wanted to do something special for Buffy, actually to Buffy, but this is _so_ much better!"  
  
Xander kneed him in the crotch and stood up, Angelus reached out and flipped Xander over backward onto the grass again. He jumped over and pinned Xander to the ground. "If it's any consolation, I didn't like you very much either. You were so damn annoying and you would just talk and talk."  
  
A hand grabbed Angelus by the shoulder, pulled him up and threw him aside into a tree. Xander jumped to a conclusion and looked up at his savior. "Buffy, how..."  
  
Drusilla smiled at the boy. "Don't fret, kitten. Mummy's here."  
  
Angelus picked himself up. "I don't know what you're up to, Dru, but it _doesn't_ amuse me!"  
  
She growled at Angelus and gently stroked Xander's hair. Xander was half frozen in fear and shock, the other half in confusion. "If you harm one hair on this boy's head..."  
  
Angelus raised an eyebrow. "You've gotta be kidding. Him?"  
  
Drusilla turned Xander to face her. "Just because I finally found a _real_ man..."  
  
Angelus shook his head as he backed away. "Damn Dru, I guess I really _did_ drive you crazy." He turned to face Xander. "I was just going to kill you, rip your arms and legs off, and leave them in random places for your friends to find. I don't even _wanna_ know what she's going to do to you."  
  
Drusilla moaned as she ran her fingers over Xander's lips. "Your face is like a poem. I can read it."  
  
Xander shifted back "Really? It doesn't say 'go away' by any chance?"  
  
Drusilla leaned in for a kiss. "Shhh. How do you feel about eternal life?"  
  
Xander balled his hand into a fist as he saw the locket laying several feet away. "Sounds good in theory, but then with all the hair gel and the blood, I think it'd get a little old don't you?"  
  
Drusilla smiled. "Silly boy."  
  
A gunshot rang through the air. Amy stood by the front door with one of Xander's pistols. "Get away from my man you undead slut."  
  
Xander took the opportunity and kicked Drusilla off him and crawled over to the locket, he grabbed it in his hand. Drusilla tackled him and bared her fangs. "Naughty boy," she turned to look at Amy, "Mummy wants to play hopscotch with your kidneys."  
  
Xander threw to necklace back to Amy and concentrated on getting Dru off of him. "Break the pendant!"  
  
Amy gave him a look of shock and hurt. "But it was a gift."  
  
Xander threw the vampiress off and shouted back. "Just break it." He turned back only to get tackled. He decided to play a low card, "It was Cordy's first remember?"  
  
Amy dropped the necklace on the floor and gave it a look of disgust. "Bitch."  
  
She brought down her heel on the piece of jewelry and crushed it.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat down at lunch alone. It seemed that most of the student body avoided him like the plague. He couldn't blame them though. The men hated him for 'stealing' their girls, and the girls just plain hated him. He frowned as Willow and then Amy passed him with their lunch trays. "Well, I'm back to being incredibly unpopular."  
  
He heard a feminine voice come from behind him. Buffy smiled and put her tray next to his before sitting down. "It's better than everyone trying to kill or seduce you, right?"  
  
Xander chuckled. He was glad to at least have one friend left. "Mostly, but, uh... Willow won't even talk to me."  
  
Buffy opened her coke and took a sip. "Any particular reason she should?"  
  
Xander shook his head and looked back towards at the petite redhead who quickly turned away. "How much groveling are we talking here?"  
  
Buffy looked at her tray, noticing the lack of actual food. "Oh, a month, at least." Xander turned back and faced her. "Xander, come on, I mean... this is worse for her than anyone. She loved you before you invoked the great Hound Dog spirit. The rest of us..."  
  
Xander groaned and slip back into his seat. "You remember, huh? Figures."  
  
Buffy raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Only some things. I remember coming on to you, remember begging you to undress me, yelling at you, you yelling at me... And then a sudden need to kill Amy. I also remember that you didn't."  
  
Xander deadpanned. "Kill Amy?"  
  
Buffy smiled and looked at him. "Undress me. It meant a lot to me what you said."  
  
Xander smiled back and took out a twinkie. "C'mon, Buffy, I couldn't take advantage of you like that. Okay, for a minute, it was touch and go there... "  
  
Buffy put her hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed. "You came through. There might just be hope for you yet."  
  
Xander chuckled and looked towards the Cordettes. "Well, tell that to Cordelia." He turned to see several other girls looking at him with disgust. "...and everyone else."  
  
Buffy shook her head and took a bite of her Snickers bar. "You're on your own there."  
  
Buffy smiled and took another bite of her snicker's bar. "Hey, do you see Giles today?"  
  
Xander almost choked his twinkie.  
  
Buffy patted him on the back. "Are you okay Xander?"  
  
Xander looked sick. "Yeah, yeah, just a little stomach quirk."  
  
Xander gazed over at the brunette cheerleader. She glanced over at him, but quickly went back into her conversation. He turned back towards Buffy. "You know what Buff? I'm going to take some good advice given to me by an old friend."  
  
Buffy smirked. "Is this old friend blonde and able to kick undead ass?"  
  
Xander laughed and shook his head. "Sadly no, but he was still pretty smart. I have to let go. I know the journey is going to be rough. I know it'll hurt..."  
  
Buffy smiled. "You've got 'but'-face."  
  
Xander gave her a dirty look. "What?"  
  
"You've got 'but'-face. I sense a 'but' coming."  
  
Xander smiled and teased her. "Well, we all can't have a 'butt' like yours now can we."  
  
*Thwack*  
  
Xander rubbed the back of his head. "Ow, okay, okay. Anyway, I have to let go. I don't mean that we wont ever get together again, or that anything'll happen in the future. It's uncertain. What I'm saying is that...it could always be worse. Its about perspective, how you look at things today. I can live with that."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1988 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved  
  
Do you see what I see? Truth is an offence, Your silence for your confidence.  
  
Do you hear what I hear? Doors are slamming shut, Limit your imagination, keep you where they must.  
  
Do you feel what I feel? Bittering distress, Who decides what you express?  
  
Do you take what I take? Endurance is the word, Moving back instead of forward seems to me absurd.  
  
Doesn't matter what you see, or into it what you read. You can do it your own way, if it's done just how I say.  
  
Independence limited  
  
Freedom of choice  
  
Choice is made for you, my friend  
  
Freedom of speech  
  
Speech is words that they will bend  
  
Freedom with their exception  
  
Do you fear what I fear? Living properly, Truths to you are lies to me.  
  
Do you choose what I choose? More alternatives, Energy derives from both the plus and negative.  
  
Do you need what I need? Boundaries overthrown, Look inside, to each his own.  
  
Do you trust what I trust? Me, myself, and I, Penetrate the smoke screen, I see through the selfish lie.  
  
Doesn't matter what you see, or into it what you read. You can do it your own way, if it's done just how I say.  
  
Independence limited  
  
Freedom of choice  
  
Choice is made for you, my friend  
  
Freedom of speech  
  
Speech is words that they will bend  
  
Freedom with their exception  
  
Do you know what I know? Your money and your wealth, Your silence just to hear yourself.  
  
Do you want what I want? Desire not a thing, I hunger after independence, lengthen freedom's ring.  
  
Doesn't matter what you see, or into it what you read. You can do it your own way, if it's done just how I say.  
  
Independence limited  
  
Freedom of choice  
  
Choice is made for you, my friend  
  
Freedom of speech  
  
Speech is words that they will bend  
  
Freedom no longer for you  
  
Doesn't matter what you see, or into it what you read. You can do it your own way, if it's done just how I say. 


	16. And Justice for All 1

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Actions have consequences. Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: This part diverges more from canon, well S2 canon. But don't worry, Trust in the Harper, the Harper is good.  
  
A/N 4: And it might be a while before I can write any more. Finals are coming up and lets say that I'm not exactly the most intelligent of people. I need to study like a bastard. I hate all my friends that can pass a class without reading the friggin book, the little bastards.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish." But just a little  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander ran. He heard the screams from the other side of the graveyard and rushed onto the scene. 'Damn,' he thought, 'why does everyone go to a freaking graveyard to make out? It's the Hellmouth. People should have realized this by now.'  
  
He pulled out his silenced USP and an incendiary grenade from underneath his jacket. Giles was right. Angelus was siring an army.  
  
He faced off against four vamps. He saw them drop the girls they had been draining. He was already too late to save the victims that they had drained, but he was sure as hell going to make the vamps pay. A male vampire with spiked black hair walked forward. And dropped the girl he had been draining "What do you think _you're_ gonna do boy?"  
  
Xander smiled and pulled out a stake.  
  
The vamp turned and grinned to the other vamps. "What do you think youre gonna do with that?" He turned back and smiled at Xander. "Maybe we should just go out and see the slayer. Word spreads about a slayer that knows how to _work_ a stake."  
  
Xander grinned as he pulled out his USP. "You are _so_ dead asshole."  
  
The leader charged Xander in full game face. He shouted to the others. "Take them back!" The three other male vamps tried to take back the victims that they had turned. He threw the incendiary grenade at the fleeing vamps, making sure there wouldn't be any new members to the undead army. He turned and fired three shots at the lead vamps chest, but with little effect. He drew stake in his other hand and his breath chilled as he charged.  
  
The vampire landed a roundhouse kick to his face, sending him sprawling into a tombstone. "And I thought Angelus was taking his time making his new mindless slaves. Who knew suckface lowered his standards."  
  
The vampire grinned. "He fucked your little slayer. I call _that_ lowering his standards."  
  
Xander took out his gun and shot the vamps kneecaps out. The vamp screamed in pain as it fell to the ground.  
  
Xander wiped the blood off of his nose. "Shut up." He walked over and plunged the stake into its heart.  
  
Xander spit out some blood and knelt next to the lead vamp, which had just started to heal. He took out a small cross on a chain and dangled it over its head. "Okay buddy, start talking. What is Angelus planning?"  
  
The vamp growled and tried to grab at Xander's throat. Xander shot him in the crotch.  
  
Xander let the vamp howl in pain for a minute before continuing. "Lets try this again."  
  
The vamp reached for his throat again. Xander shot him in the crotch again. "I meant the whole talking thing. Not the whole shootey-mr-happy thing. I don't really enjoy it."  
  
The vamp muttered something about Xander's mother and a mothra demon. Xander fired four consecutive rounds into the vampire's groin. "Okay, maybe the whole shooting vampires in their private parts thing _is_ fun, but I still need answers. What is Angelus up to?"  
  
The vamp smirked and spit up some blood. "He'll kill all of you, your families, everyone."  
  
Xander pointed the gun at the vamps head and said, "Everyone dies." He pulled the trigger.  
  
*Click*  
  
Xander looked at the gun. "Huh, I went through all twelve rounds. Must be your lucky day."  
  
The vamp smirked. Xander took out his stake and pushed it through the vamps chest. "You fu.."  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander walked into the library the next day to see the whole gang assembled. "What?" he sat down at the table, opposite of Oz, "Did you loose my invitation this time G-man? I thought you British types kept tabs on those things."  
  
Giles sighed and closed the book he was reading. "Yes well, I'm sorry that I did not take out a full page ad in the comics section of today's newspaper for you Xander. But we have more important things to discuss."  
  
Buffy looked into a book blankly. "He came to my house and threatened my mom."  
  
The group turned to her. Giles was the first to speak. "What?"  
  
Buffy shook her head. "You said it first. He'd come after my family. He tried to come into the house, but Willow's spell worked. We're gonna start going to everyone's houses and doing it there after school."  
  
Giles nodded. "Did he somehow _hurt_ your mother?"  
  
She sighed. "Not physically no, he just told her some things."  
  
Giles grabbed a nearby book. "What did he say? We'll start researching at once."  
  
Willow pulled his arm aside and whispered. "Not those kind of things."  
  
Giles' mouth made a slight 'O' before sticking anymore of his foot in there.  
  
Oz, in the mean time, wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He had heard everything from Willow. He instead looked out of the corner of his eye at Xander. Something was off about him, he just _smelled_ different.  
  
Xander kept his gaze on the conversation between Giles, Willow, and Buffy, who were discussing the various ways to protect a house versus public places, like the library. He threw in quip remarks and comments every now and get annoyed looks from the trio, but he couldn't help but feel Oz staring into the back of his head. He stood up. "I need a soda, anyone want anything?"  
  
Giles and Buffy shook their heads. Buffy said, "Nah. Hyper slayer on caffeine makes watcher go crazy."  
  
Willow, on the other hand nodded vehemently at Oz and requested a Diet coke. Xander looked over at the redhead to make a comment, but saw her tear up and look away quickly. Xander sighed and followed the musician out.  
  
///////////////////////////  
  
Xander looked at Oz as they left the library. "Diet?"  
  
Oz shrugged his shoulders. "Girls are weird."  
  
Xander chuckled. "So said the werewolf musician."  
  
Oz raised an eyebrow. "And you're completely normal?"  
  
Xander deadpanned as he put two quarters into the coke machine. "Well...yeah. You're the werewolf. Buffy's the slayer. Giles is the watcher- man. Willow is the wicked wicca. I'm..."  
  
Oz leaned forward and sniffed him.  
  
Xander took several steps back. "...the _strait_ guy. Emphasis on the _strait_ there."  
  
Oz took another step forward. "I saw you that night."  
  
Xander took another step back. "Oz, you know Larry, right? I bet you two would just hit it off..."  
  
Oz growled. "Stop it. I know that you're human, but something's off. You just don't smell right."  
  
Xander tried to defend himself. "Come on Oz, what are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm beginning to remember things. Things from when I was a werewolf."  
  
Xander tried to confuse him. "You _are_ a werewolf."  
  
Oz remained steadfast. "You shot me."  
  
"Oz, you've been shot by everyone, several times. Willow shot you with the tranq gun last Thursday."  
  
Oz smiled and nodded as his memory became clearer in his mind. "You shot me and your eyes glowed. I remember it."  
  
Xander shook his head as put a couple of quarters into the soda machine and decided to get some Barq's. "Okay, Oz maybe we shouldn't shoot you full of happy-sleepy drugs next time. They're making you loopy...and a little fruity."  
  
Oz raised an eyebrow. "Fruity and loopy?"  
  
Xander chuckled. "Fruity Loops. They're like Fruit Loops except less macho." He grabbed his soda and walked the werewolf back into the library.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander and Oz walked back into the library. Xander was able to effectively avoid talking about his late night patrols. He wasn't trying to 'fight off the night' or try to kill every last vampire. He just knew that he had to thin their numbers a little, maybe get a heads up every now and then. He knew he had to keep it from the rest of the group. They had their own demons to battle with, physical or emotional. He couldn't fight those battles for them. Or maybe he just couldn't _win_ those battles.  
  
After he got to know Oz, he felt a sense of closure about Willow. Although he still felt love for her, he could see Oz being good for her. That was all that mattered. He wasn't able to talk to Willow for the past few days. Every time they were in a room alone or it seemed like he was about to talk to her, she would simply leave. It was good to talk to Oz. At least he knew she was okay. In the musician, Xander felt he might have a good friend. Not another Jesse, but maybe just an Oz. He patted the werewolf on the back and sat down next to some old books, getting ready to research.  
  
Oz grinned and sat down next to Willow who promptly opened her hand. "Coke, now."  
  
Xander chuckled as the musician stood back up with a quick "Yes ma'am." 


	17. And Justice for All 2

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Xander looses people in the fight. If you save one life you loose another. You cant save them all, you might not even be able to save one. Everyone dies sooner or later. Either way, Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish." But just a little.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia walked from behind the stacks. Ever since the 'weird spell thing' that had happened a week ago, she kept finding herself watching him. She didn't know exactly how to approach him. 'Hi Xander, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about stomping all over your feelings, by the way, do you want to go to the Janitors closet?' Yeah right. I'd have better luck asking Giles to the janitors closet.  
  
Cordelia let out a small "eww" before quietly walking out of the library.  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
Xander let out a small sigh as he saw Cordelia walk out of the library. Things had been...different between them. They weren't together, if they even were in the first place. And they weren't bitter mortal enemies like they once were. Xander smiled to himself. 'Ah the good old days, when the air was clean and the vamps were dusty.'  
  
He chuckled a little to himself, which earned him a slight glare from Giles. "Xander, do you somehow find the ritual of Antiosis to be funny?"  
  
Xander tried to play it cool. "Yes?"  
  
That earned him another slap upside the head.  
  
*Thwack!*  
  
"OW, Dammit Giles, when did everyone decide that it was okay to slap me upside the head for no apparent reason."  
  
Buffy deadpanned as she read from a demonology encyclopedia. "It was either when you decided to go out with Cordelia or when you pulled that little spell of yours last week, we haven't decided."  
  
Xander felt the room drop a couple of degrees as everyone glared daggers at him. He winced in defeat. "Oh, _okay_ well let me know when you do."  
  
Willow turned the page she was reading, not bothering to look up. "Oh, we intend on."  
  
////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia can't believe what a social leper she had suddenly became. After word got out that she had actually 'gone out' with Xander Harris, the popular clique shunned her for 'dabbling in the riffraff.' When she actually defended her choices, she removed any chance of getting back in their good graces. And everyone else shunned her because, well, she was Cordelia Chase. She started back down the hall, and noticed someone from earlier. She sighed. "Go ahead. Dazzle me with your oh-so-brilliant insults. Just join the club."  
  
The young girl seemed a little confused. "Hardly. Uh, actually, I've been looking for you. Ever since we met this morning, I was, like, thank God there's one other person in this town who actually reads W."  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "But Harmony..."  
  
The girl grinned and started walking to the common area. "Oh, she follows me around. If that girl had an original thought, her head would explode."  
  
Cordelia grinned and held out her hand. "I'm sorry, but I forgot your name, what was it?"  
  
The girl smiled and took her hand to shake. "It's Anya, and don't worry, I'm new here. We only met this morning."  
  
Cordelia walked along side her talking about the latest trends when she noticed Anya's pendant. "Is that Gucci?"  
  
Anya smiled briefly. "Um... no. It's an actual old thing, sort of a, um... good luck charm my dad gave me."  
  
Cordelia. "Too bad I didn't have one of those pre-Xander."  
  
Anya had an evil smirk on her face. "Apart from being without class, the guy's obviously blind. Deserves whatever he gets. I mean to actually make you feel bad for putting thought into it and breaking it off before it got too serious. You were just looking out for him if you think about it."  
  
"I'm not even thinking about him. I am past it. I am living my life."  
  
"Still, I mean... Don't you kinda just wish..."  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "I don't wish. I act. Starting now, Xander Harris is gonna get a bellyful of just how over him I am."  
  
////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander watched as Cordy and the new girl walked into the cafeteria. He still had a few smoldering embers in his heart for her. It was that that really disgusted him. She threw him out, ripped his heart to shreds, and what does he want. He sighed. He still wanted her. "Dammit all to hell."  
  
"What?"  
  
Xander was brought out of his rambling by a slightly hungry slayer with half of a bologna on rye sandwich stuck in her mouth. "Nothing Buff."  
  
She smiled and continued to devour the contents of her lunch. Xander shook his head and took a bite of his Hershey bar. "I don't understand how you're able to eat that much."  
  
She finished her sandwich and grinned up at him before taking a sip of Coke. "This coming from the human trash compactor. God, last time you came over to my house you ate so much, my mom had to go for groceries mid- dinner."  
  
Xander reached into his brown paper bag and pulled out an apple. "Nah Buff, you don't understand how good it really is to have a home cooked meal. God, at my house, Greek Valley is speed dial number one. Mr. China's delivery is number two, three through seven is Dominos, Little Caesars, Pizza Hut and the rest of the pizza places."  
  
Buffy grinned and took another sip. "What are eight and nine? If you say Olive Garden or something like that, I swear I'm gonna hit you."  
  
Xander smiled. "Nah, You're number nine...Willow is number eight."  
  
Buffy looked apologetically at him. "You miss her don't you?"  
  
Xander held the apple in his hands, looking at its red shine. He smiled a little. "Yeah I do, but Oz is good for Willow. I'm happy that she's happy. I just wish she'd stop being mad at me."  
  
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh my God. You like Willow don't you?"  
  
Xander gave her a sideways look. "Listen Buffy, I'll admit that when she first started going out with him, I was a little bit..."  
  
"Jealous? Overbearing?"  
  
"...cautious. But Oz and I had a little, you know, guy-to-guy talk. The point is that I love Willow. I really do, but it's the same way I love you."  
  
Buffy started to tear up a little. "You love me Xan?"  
  
Xander smirked gleefully and took her Coke. "You had your chance."  
  
Buffy pouted and kicked his shin under the table. "Ow." He took the hint and handed back her Coke. "I love the both of you as much as a man can, just not that way. But honestly I don't know what I feel half the time." He sighed. 'Not anymore.'  
  
"And what about Cordelia?"  
  
Xander sighed as the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over. He picked up his bag and walked towards class with Buffy. "I don't know, whatever we might've had, she doesn't want any of it."  
  
He saw Cordy and the new girl talk excitedly and laugh on their way back to class. Buffy turned and saw what he was looking at. She patted him on the shoulder for a second before slapping him upside the head.  
  
*Thwack!*  
  
"Jesus! If you do that one more time..."  
  
Buffy grinned as she ran infront of him. "Never get between a slayer and her caffeine."  
  
Xander smiled and gave chase.  
  
//////////////////////////////////  
  
Willow watched as a giggling Buffy tore down the hall shortly followed by a grinning Xander. Xander saw her and slowed down a little to see if he could talk to her. If there was a group of people, she would just find someone else to talk to. She never let herself be alone in the same room with him for more than a second. When she didn't run away, he slowly walked towards her. "Hi."  
  
Willow nodded and gave a brief smile. "Hi."  
  
Down the hall Buffy stopped, wondering what happened to Xander. She turned to see the two of them really start to talk to each other for the first time in days and decided to leave them be.  
  
Xander took a step forward. "You haven't called me back."  
  
She nodded. "I know. Oz keeps on telling me I should talk to you. So does Buffy."  
  
He grinned. "Yeah, they're persistent aren't they?"  
  
She smiled. "I know that you didn't mean anything, that you were just trying to teach Cordelia a lesson, but it hurt me. It really did."  
  
Xander put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen I..."  
  
"NO, YOU LISTEN!" she knocked off her hand and began to yell at him. " I'VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE WE WERE THREE! THREE!!!"  
  
"Will, I..."  
  
"I WANTED YOU TO LOVE ME. WHEN YOU CHOSE THAT BITCH, I FINALLY BEGAN TO GET OVER YOU. THEN YOU PULL SOME SHIT LIKE THAT AND I ALMOST _GAVE_ MYSELF TO YOU."  
  
"But you didn't. God Wills, I love you, I love you. You know what my FUCKING family life is like. You know that you and Jesse were my only family for years."  
  
Willow started to break down in tears. "God, Xander..."  
  
"I wouldn't have messed that up for anything. And I know I would've. I'm not good enough for you. Hell, I know I'm not even good for you."  
  
He looked at her with tear filled eyes. The tiny redhead hugged him for all she was worth. He almost squeezed the life out of her. "Oz _IS_. I didn't like him at first because you are my sister. I don't care if we're not related; you are my sister in every way that counts to me. I love you and I need you. I need you to be my Willow JUST as much as you need me to be your Xander."  
  
Willow cried out in his chest. The tears soaked into his red shirt. "I love you Xander."  
  
Xander smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too Wills."  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia and Anya watched the display from up the stairs. Anya turned to the cheerleader. "Who is that?"  
  
Cordelia felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away immediately. "That's Willow."  
  
Anya put her hands on her hips. "You mean the little bookworm that's had a crush on him since they were like two?"  
  
Cordelia nodded her head and smiled a little in spite of herself. "Yep, that's her."  
  
They looked on as the two happy friends walked themselves to class. Anya smirked. "Don't you just wish that all of his friends just turned to flesh eating worms and started to devour his genitals?"  
  
Cordelia looked at her a little funny and walked back to class. "No, I don't know. It's just that, even when he messes up, EVERYONE forgives him. But look at me, I mean no one is crying in my arms or trying to make me feel better. I mean the whole 'love spell' or whatever it was. Hello? I mean everyone just forgives him for messing with everyone's feelings. I try to make the right decision and everyone just leaves me."  
  
Anya nodded. She put her hands behind her neck and undid the clasp of her antique locket and put it around Cordelia's neck. "It looks like you might need this more than I do."  
  
Cordelia just tensed and sighed. "I just wish that he knew what it was like to lose everyone."  
  
Cordelia took a step back and gasped when she saw a wrinkled and raw- looking demon staring back at her. Anyanka, the Patron Saint of all women scorned, smiled evilly. "Done." 


	18. And Justice for All 3

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Actions have consequences. Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: Its gonna be a while before I can get more out. It's the weekend, I figure why the hell not. But its gonna be a while (probably after Thanksgiving) before you get more.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica, or 28 Days Later. This is not a crossover with it, I'm just paying a little tribute.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander dropped a red-eyed Willow off at her Trig class. She turned to him and asked, "Aren't you going to be tardy?"  
  
The brown haired boy just smirked and shook his head. "Me, I'm never tardy, just fashionably late."  
  
The redhead gave him a small, but sincere smile. "I missed you."  
  
Xander smiled. "I missed you too."  
  
With that, the girl walked into class, leaving a very solemn, but content Xander Harris alone in the hall.  
  
He started to walk to the library, where he thought that he could safely annoy Giles for the remainder of the afternoon. Earlier that week, he had successfully hid Giles' book stamps and check out registry for about four hours. When the watcher found them, he accused Xander of trying to get him fired if a student or Snyder came in. He just responded that no one else outside of the slaying ever came in the library unless it was trying to kill someone. That did little to settle Giles' anger as he cleaned his glasses furiously for the rest of the day.  
  
Xander chuckled as he turned a corner. A few steps later he started to feel a slight cool breeze on the back of his neck, as if someone was blowing on it. He turned to see no one else in the hall. The cold sensation started to become stronger. He felt the cold wash over him. But it was different. It felt all encompassing, like it was holding on for dear life. He started to feel like he was trapped in ice. The cold was fighting a different, more sinister coolness. He felt it creep up his arms and legs. It scorched his skin and entered his body through his pores. He tried to scream but only saw his warm breath escape from his lips. He fell to his knees and succumbed to unconsciousness.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////  
  
28 days later...  
  
*BEEP*  
  
*BEEP*  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"UGGGHH."  
  
*BEEP*  
  
*BEEP*  
  
*BEEP*  
  
Xander's eyes sprang open and he jerked himself forward on the bed. "AHHH!"  
  
*BEEP*  
  
Xander looked around the room. He was in a hospital.  
  
*BEEP*  
  
He looked down at his arm to see an IV needle stuck in it. He looked up at the bag, labeled: 'A. Harris. B+. 3/12/98'  
  
"Crap." He had lost almost a month. He looked around the room. If he had just woken up, there should be someone waiting for him. If not Giles, or Buffy or Willow, then a nurse or something should be there by now. He sighed and pulled the needle out of his arm.  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
"HELLO!!!"  
  
Xander Harris walked along the hospital corridor, looking for anyone. It was dark out. He didn't want to let his guard down, although he was in a hospital. He found a cross and a bottle of holy water in the hospital's chapel to protect himself. He was also able to break off some of the wood from the pews to make a stake. He stood in the middle of the corridor with the stake in his left and the cross in the right.  
  
"HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE?"  
  
He saw a map on the side of the wall. He thought that he should've had the entire layout memorized by now. He took a quick look and decided to see if anyone was in the lobby. A light was on in the main lobby, he thought he heard voices and sprinted to the receptionist desk.  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
The lobby was empty. The television in the corner of the room flickered on and off. The room was in general disarray. He walked slowly and deliberately around the room. He spoke in his regular voice, although slightly wary. "Hello? Anyone out there?"  
  
He sighed and picked up a phone. There was no beeping or anything like a dial tone. He dropped the phone and sighed again before walking out the door. Once outside, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up again and turned to his left. On the side of the hospital wall, a message was painted in red.  
  
"The End is Extremely Fucking Nigh."  
  
Xander's face dropped as he jumped into a dead run towards the library.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
He slowed to a jog as he went past a church. The cross on top of the steeple had been knocked down and the side of the building had been blown out. The entire street looked like a battlefield. He slowly continued on his way. There were no cold shivers running down his spine, or any ominous feelings as he walked by. He could only feel the dry wind pass by him. He wondered what had happened. Had everyone left? It looked like World War Three had taken place, but there was no blood. No bodies, no evil demons coming out to kill him. There was nothing except hallowed out buildings and an oddly warm breeze.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Normally, Xander might have felt a little silly walking into Sunnydale High while only wearing a hospital gown. But there were more important things to worry about.  
  
He pushed the doors open and looked in only to turn away and throw up. There were bodies everywhere. Students, teachers, parents, they were all just piled up on top of each other. He thought he saw a familiar head of purple hair. "Oh God, Giles."  
  
He rushed over to the body and turned it over. Xander turned away for a second before looking back on the man he had thought of as his adopted father. His throat had been slashed. There were evident signed of torture and mutilation all over his body. One of his ears was cut off, while the other looked like it had been burnt with a hot set of pliers. His arms and hands were torn and bloody, and one of his eyes had been gouged out.  
  
He fought back the tears as he crossed the watcher's arms over his chest and went off to bury him.  
  
It took about half an hour to properly bury Giles. It took another hour to move all of the bodies out of the library. He would have buried them as well, but he needed to see what the Scoobies were doing before he decided to do anything else.  
  
Xander found Giles' own watcher diaries in a locked drawer in his office. After 'opening' the drawer, he started to leaf through the pages. Hopefully he could find something.  
  
He read an excerpt from the last day he remembered.  
  
"Diary of Rupert Giles, Watcher of Slayer Buffy Summers. February 24, 1998.  
  
...Xander was found in the hallway shortly after the lunch period. He showed no signs of physical violence or any kind of vampire attack. The slayer, Buffy, has taken the news of his comatose state poorly. She blames herself for not being able to protect him..."  
  
He shuffled the pages a few days forward.  
  
"Diary of Rupert Giles, Watcher of Slayer Buffy Summers. March 2, 1998.  
  
...After Jenny Calendar was killed and left in my bed, I took it upon myself to attack the master vampire Angelus. I also believe him to be responsible for the current state of Alexander Harris, mentioned previously as a friend to the slayer. When I attacked Angelus in the factory where he had set up his lair, the slayer and the rest of our forces came to rescue me. While they were able to destroy and eliminate most of the vampire army that were present, the slayer was unable to fight Angelus himself. I believe that Buffy, if given the choice may or may not be able to kill Angelus. I must admit that it is my fault for letting her have such a relationship with a vampire..."  
  
The last entry read:  
  
"Diary of Rupert Giles, Watcher of Slayer Buffy Summers. March 12, 1998.  
  
...It is my regret to inform the counsel that the slayer is dead and more frighteningly, possibly turned. She was killed while her stay in the hospital. Angelus came by while Willow Rosenburg and Daniel Osborne, the slayers best friend and her boyfriend, was standing guard for her. The vampire snapped the young woman's neck, decapitated the young man, and then drained the slayer. He then returned with her to his mansion where I believe his turning her. She would have the strength and power of a slayer multiplied by that of a vampire. I fear for when they find the key to unlocking Altacha for as it stands, there is nothing to stop them, but I must try."  
  
Xander closed the book and sighed. Obviously they got to Giles before he could start his counter attack. He looked out the window towards a bit of disturbed ground with a simple wooden cross. He sighed and flipped back through the rest of the entries to see if there was anything useful.  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Outside a young woman ran for all she was worth. The sun would be setting in an hour or two, and there were only a few places she could hide. She ran towards the school parking lot, seeing a few of the cars still there. In the past few weeks, she had learned how to hotwire cars and take care of...other things when need be. She saw a light on in the high school library and tensed before giving up and running towards the doors. 


	19. And Justice for All 4

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Actions have consequences. Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He spun around to see a ragged-looking ex-cheerleader charge into the library. "Cordelia!"  
  
Cordelia had seen better times. Her hair had been cropped short. She wore dirty blue jeans with a dirty tan top and brown leather jacket. In her left hand she had one of Xander's Glocks that he had 'obtained' earlier that month. In the other hand was a small wooden cross. She blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "Xander?"  
  
"What the hell is going on? One second I'm walk...OMPH." He was cut off by an enthusiastic fierce kiss and tackled to the floor.  
  
"Oh my God Xander, I thought you were dead. I saw you talking with Willow, the next Anya found you passed out in the middle of the hall. Then Mrs. Calendar died, Willow died, Oz died, Giles died. Everyone's dead."  
  
Xander felt himself being crushed by Cordelia's surprisingly strong grip. Cordelia held on for dear life. He had already been taken away from her, as everyone else had been.  
  
"Cordy," Xander pried her off long enough to look her in the eyes. Tears ran down her face and her bottom lip trembled. "Tell me what happened."  
  
////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat in silence. Everyone was dead. Cordy had said it herself. He didn't want to believe her, or Giles' journal, but the proof was there, all around him. She was able to hotwire a dodge and was driving them to the outskirts of town. He saw just massive destruction. Some buildings were left standing, but they seemed empty. Cordelia had said that after Buffy was killed, Giles took it upon himself to gather as many people as he could to the high school and try to reason with them. To make them realize what was happening in the town. Unfortunately, Angelus heard of it and sent a horde of demons after them. Only Cordelia and three others were able to escape. Angelus left the bodies there as a warning. The times that they had tried to go and bury the dead, Angelus and his minions were able to kill two of the survivors, Jonathan and Larry.  
  
Cordelia finished her story just as they pulled up to a small two-story house in the middle of a clearing. Cordelia got out of the car, followed shortly by Xander. He stopped and looked around the landscape. The lawn around the house was completely barren except for some markings and lumps in the ground. He turned to Cordelia. "Is that what I think it is?"  
  
The brunette smiled. "Yeah, after Alca...after we moved here, we thought it would be a good idea to...protect ourselves."  
  
Xander shook his head, allowing himself a small smile as they walked up to the front door. "I would consider the amount of land mines you have surrounding this place _very_ good protection. And who exactly is 'ourselves?'"  
  
A voice interrupted him. "Oh come on Xander, just because I wasn't part of the infamous 'Scooby Gang,' doesn't mean that I couldn't take care of myself."  
  
Xander turned to see a slightly familiar blond head walk towards him. "Hey Amy. How are you doing?"  
  
Amy Madison gave a small grin before responding. "Real shitty. You?"  
  
Xander looked back at Cordelia before walking into the house. "Yeah pretty much the same...except I had a nice long nap."  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat at a small round dinner table. The soft glow of candlelight illuminated the room. Cordelia said that the electric cable didn't run this way, nor did anything else for that matter. It was one of the reasons they were able to keep themselves safe. Also, they had dry, warm clothes, which he was happy to change into. He looked at his eggs. They weren't bad, a little runny and salty, but otherwise...edible. He took another bite and looked up at his current saviors. Amy was looking at him with a small smile, like he was a pleasant surprise, another person to talk to. Cordelia gave him little, wistful stares when she thought that he wasn't looking. Something was different about her. He pushed his plate a little forward. "So..."  
  
Amy took another bite of her eggs and put her fork on the table. "So..."  
  
Cordelia smiled and put her hand over his. "Its good to have you back."  
  
Xander smiled and took another bite. "Its good to be back."  
  
Amy shook her head and looked a little crestfallen. "Its not that good."  
  
Cordelia put a hand on her shoulder. "We're alive aren't we? We're not dead, or turned. I consider that _very_ good."  
  
Xander spoke up. "How did you survive?"  
  
The two looked at him with guilty faces. "I don't mean it like that, but how were you able to escape, or how did you do the whole 'no mans land' outside?"  
  
Cordelia smiled a little wistfully and took out something from her neck. It was a little broken and glued back together, but otherwise in good shape. Xander smiled and took it in his hand. "The locket."  
  
Amy grinned and sat back in her seat. "After the ...spell, I kept the locket, I don't know why, and gave it back to Cordelia. I more or less told her that she was a bit of a selfish bitch and that even though you were a stupid, retarded..."  
  
"Moron, dufus, dumb ass,"  
  
"...Thank you Cordelia, idiot of a man, you still had a good heart." Amy turned to see Xander chuckle a little and Cordelia had a small smile. "Anyway, she took it back and glued it together."  
  
Xander looked back at Cordelia, who had a slight scarlet blush starting to come over her. "It was right after you passed out. I was angry at the time, and when you were lying in that hospital bed, I just..." her eyes started to tear up a bit, but was able to hold them back.  
  
Xander felt a small hand on his other shoulder and looked to Amy. "She wore it everyday. When...things started to happen, she was able to beat off some vampires, run fast and have some military knowledge. I began to remember some of the remnants of our little 'spell incident.' People were being possessed with the hyena spirit. I used the locket as the focusing point for the spell, so I guessed it held some of the spirit as well, and Cordelia told me all about the fun you had at Halloween."  
  
Xander began to understand. "You energized it."  
  
Amy nodded. "More or less."  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Is that why the 'spell' went all crazy on us?"  
  
The blond witch shook her head. "No, nothing like that should've happened. Even the spell from that Chaos Mage from Halloween shouldn't have had that effect. As far as I understand, the magics involving pure chaos don't work like that."  
  
Cordelia wiped away some tears from her eyes. "Giles said that Ethan never would've used something with that type of chaos because he wasn't strong enough and it was, and I'm quoting him here, 'too bloody insanely chaotic.'"  
  
A small silence filled the room. Cordelia felt herself start to break apart again. "I miss him."  
  
Xander gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey now Cor, things are going to get better." He stood up and tried to make her laugh. "I mean come on, the Xand- man's here. This is cause for a celebration."  
  
Cordy groaned. "If the 'Xand-man' keeps referring to himself in the third person, I'll celebrate my foot up his ass."  
  
Amy laughed and got up. "You're right. This is cause for a celebration. I say we break out the champagne."  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Champagne?"  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "It's not champagne as much as Giles' old rum and some of my parents' scotch."  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Several hours later, Xander laid down on the couch and pulled some of the covers over himself. He looked around the little cottage that the girls had found. It was meager and little, but sturdy and, from what he had seen, _very_ well fortified. They had done well for themselves. He felt a cold chill across the back of his neck and heard a noise from behind him. He quickly spun around pointing one of the Glocks that Cordelia had handed him.  
  
Behind the darkness a feminine figure in a loose T-shirt and baggy jeans walked out to greet him. "Its okay Xander, its just me."  
  
Xander sighed and lowered the pistol. "God Cordy, you almost gave me an aneurysm. Don't do that to me."  
  
She smiled a little and motioned to the couch. "Can I sit?"  
  
Xander gave her a grin, scooted over and pat the cushion next to him. "Sure."  
  
She sat next to him and lit another candle on the table infront of them. The curtains were all closed with 'hurricane shutters.' So they didn't have to worry about someone seeing the light from outside. When he asked why there were hurricane shutters in California, they smacked him upside the head.  
  
He smiled as she sat down next to him. The candlelight creating shadows dancing along her face. "So...what's up? Is something wrong?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head and cracked a little smile. "No, I just...I missed you Xander. I wanted to say that I'm sorry about everything."  
  
Xander grinned and shook his head. "Don't worry Cor, I knew you weren't in a good place. Its okay."  
  
Cordelia grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down into a ferocious kiss. She worked her hands slowly around to the front of his shirt and started to undo some of his buttons. Xander tore himself away for a second. "Cordy, I don't think..."  
  
"I know you don't. Now is not the time to start." She felt herself tear up and backed away for a second. "Xander, I just...after everything happened and I thought you were dead, I knew how much you mean to me. There's no one else now. It's just us. Please. We need this."  
  
She looked into his eyes and softly kissed him. "I need this."  
  
Xander leaned up and kissed her lips softly, which she responded in kind. He pulled back and stared into her dark eyes for a second. "I don't know Cordy. Is this just because of everything that's happened or what? I mean I do, and did really care for you, but I'm not sure."  
  
She smiled sweetly and leaned over to leave a sweet chaste kiss on his lips. "Xander, its not pity. I feel sorry for what happened, but that's not why I'm doing this." She straddled herself over him and put her hands on his chest. "When you were with me, I felt like more of a person. It really made me feel like I wasn't the rich bitch or anything. I was just being me. I haven't been me for so long." She bent down and gave him a soft, passionate kiss before pulling back and looking into his eyes. "I want to be me with you."  
  
She moaned as he started to kiss down her neck. She stopped him for a second and pulled his head into another heated kiss. She reached behind her neck and undid the clasp on her necklaces and put them on the table. She grinned at him. "Don't want those getting in the way."  
  
He pulled her back onto the couch. She laughed and pulled him back up off the couch. "I have my own room you know."  
  
Xander grinned playfully. "I didn't know."  
  
She smiled seductively back at him as she led him up the stairs. "Well now you do."  
  
/////////////////////////  
  
Amy yawned and walked down the stairs. She pulled back the shutters to reveal the first rays of sunlight. She walked over to the couch to find it empty. "What the hell?"  
  
She walked over to the table to see a very familiar locket. She raised an eyebrow and looked up the stairs to where Cordelia's bedroom door remained closed. She went to pick up the necklace and saw something else alongside it. It was another necklace, an old one. She shrugged and picked it up. It looked...familiar. She picked the lockets up and headed for the living room to research some more. 


	20. And Justice for All 5

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: Okay, okay, some X/C in here for you.  
  
A/N: This is the continuation of Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Actions have consequences. Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews. Sorry it's been a while, what can I say, things happen in real life that kinda take precedent. But I'm back, and to make up for it, this is a bit longer than usual, so here you go.  
  
A/N 3: not a whole lot of action in this chapter, it sets more of the setting as well as plot and character development; at least that's what I hope it does.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish." Kinda Sorta.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander woke up to find a pillow over his head. A bright pink pillow. He grinned remembering the night before and slowly peeked his head out from underneath. The first rays of sunshine were beginning to pour through the shutters into the room. Lines of light refracted off of the wooden walls and furniture of the room.  
  
Cordelia frowned in her sleep as her source of heat was taken from her. Xander heard a slightly muffled complaint next to him as his arm was taken prisoner. He grinned again before lightly kissing the top of her forehead. Cordelia's response to his romantic gesture was a slight smile and her soft murmur of "Dweeb-boy."  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow as he slowly removed his arm from her grip. As he slowly sat up and got out of the bed, he heard a slightly teasing voice from behind him. "And where do you think you're going?"  
  
Cordelia smiled as she stretched and yawned, trying to wake up. The covers on the bed had been flung off sometime during the night, save for a light blue comforter, which Cordelia held with one arm over her body.  
  
Xander smiled and put on a pair of boxers that were sitting alone in the middle of the room. "Nowhere, I thought that I'd might make milady some breakfast."  
  
Cordelia smiled. "And what were you planning on making me?"  
  
He grinned as he crawled onto the bed next to her. He laid a soft kiss on her forehead and stroked her face. "Anything you want."  
  
She smiled for a second before pushing him off the bed. "Scrambled eggs, light toast with strawberries."  
  
She finished her order by burying herself in the comforter and wrapping herself up like a burrito.  
  
Xander grinned and looked around the room for some more clothes.  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander walked down the stairs in an old gray t-shirt and some baggy jeans. His huge grin had been calmed down to one resembling that of only mild insanity, but he didn't care. He rounded to corner to see Amy sitting at the kitchen table with several large books opened. "Good morning."  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of tea. "Afternoon."  
  
Xander looked at her as he sat down across from her. "Really?"  
  
Amy looked up briefly and grinned before she turned a page in one of her books. "Yep, it's probably about three or so the sun should be setting in about an hour."  
  
Xander cocked his head to the side, thinking aloud. "The sun sets at four?"  
  
Amy sighed. "Just another one of those fun changes the world went through. Day and night switched so it's about 8 hours of light a day."  
  
Xander thought aloud. "Huh, I guess I missed breakfast."  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow. "I guess that Cordelia 'slept late' too."  
  
Xander coughed nervously and changed the subject. He pointed to the two pendants on the table. "Hey, isn't that one Cordy's?"  
  
"They're both hers I guess. I'm trying to figure out what the other one is. It looks familiar. Anyway, this is probably the first time in a while that I had a chance to look at it. She never really takes them off. I thought I could look more into why the locket does...whatever it does...and I noticed the other one and I just wanted to research it a bit."  
  
Xander's face grew into a grin. "Oh, _researching_ now are we? And I thought you just might want to try it on to see if you get the Hyena speed or strength."  
  
Amy's face deepened into a playful frown before turning into a wicked smile. "I was actually thinking to myself that you must have done _something_ special to get her to take these off." Amy eyed the now blushing Alexander Harris. "You know?"  
  
The color of Xander's face resembled that of a large tomato for several seconds as he tried to stammer his way out of the verbal trap Amy had set for him. "Ah...you know...just because we are...yeah."  
  
Amy smiled before scribbling a note down. "Yeah, thought so."  
  
She looked back up to see Xander still red as a balloon trying to figure out how to make a coherent sentence. She placed her pen down on the table and looked at him. "Xander, its okay. I think its great that you and Cordy are together. You _are_ together, right?"  
  
Xander managed to nod.  
  
Amy smiled. "Good, I'm glad for you. She was so upset by everything. I don't think she even knew how she really felt. And after everything happened, I guess she felt like her one chance had passed her by. But you know what life finds a way. In all of the chaos and insanity that was going on, you were under everyone's radar. And hell, this world isn't much, but there's still life."  
  
Xander's face returned to his normal color as he looked at Amy. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Amy took one loose strand of her hair and placed it behind her ear. "Look around. Its _light_ out right now. Isn't the world supposed to be in a dark scary place with total darkness and no hope? Cordy and I survived. Just barely, but we survived. You survived too. And there has got to be more people out there. People that no one took into account. People that are still fighting and people that the fighting just passed by. There are others."  
  
Xander leaned closer. "What makes you say that?"  
  
Amy's face grew serious. "There has to be."  
  
The sound of someone walking down the stairs interrupted their conversation. "Well, oh mighty and great cook, I thought you were trying to make me scrambled eggs."  
  
Xander tried to hide his smile as best he could. "Sorry Cor, but Amy said that it's a little late for breakfast."  
  
Cordelia pulled another jacket over her white t-shirt and stuck her hands in her black pants and walked up to Xander, with an emotionless face she held out her left hand. "Eggs."  
  
Xander shook his head. "Where the hell am I supposed to get eggs? I didn't see any Kwik-E-Marts on the drive here."  
  
Cordelia raised an impatient eyebrow. "Eggs."  
  
Xander smiled sweetly. "But Cordy honey..."  
  
"Eggs."  
  
"What eggs?"  
  
"Eggs."  
  
"How am I supposed to get any eggs?"  
  
Amy spoke up. "We found a couple of chickens a couple of days ago, they're in a pen behind the house, and you can grab a few for me also. I like them scrambled too. Oh and there's a well back there too, we're gonna need some more water to drink."  
  
Xander turned back to Cordelia who smiled sweetly and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.  
  
Xander groaned and walked out the door.  
  
Cordelia turned and sat down opposite Amy and took a book from one of the stacks. "So Aims, what are we researching today?"  
  
//////////////////////////////////////  
  
It had taken him about four minutes to find the damned chickens and another twenty to get anything done. When he finished he looked over his work. The sun was setting and he wanted to get back inside. The basket housed only four eggs, but that should be enough for the girls. Only one chicken had escaped, and after a good fifteen minutes of chasing the damned thing he was able to put it back into the pen. He sighed and picked up the basket before going back inside.  
  
As he neared the door, he heard shouting and screaming he dropped the eggs and ran in a mad dash. He burst through the kitchen doorway to see the table against the wall and Cordelia and Amy at each other's throats.  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia screamed as tears streamed down her face. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"  
  
Amy shouted while hitting her, "What the hell are you talking about? This is all YOUR GODDAMNED FAULT!"  
  
Xander pried the two apart. "What the hell is going on here?"  
  
Cordelia grabbed the necklaces and started out the door. "Just leave me alone."  
  
Xander put his hand on her shoulder. "Cordy, wait..."  
  
Cordelia shoved his arm off and screamed at him before running towards the car. "JUST FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
Amy grabbed Xander's arm gently. "Xander, let her go."  
  
/////////////////////  
  
Cordelia ran to the car and got in. She sat there for a second, just crying. She put her arms over the steering wheel and buried her face in them.  
  
/////////////////////////////  
  
Amy sighed as she began to explain. "You might want to sit down."  
  
Xander nodded, not knowing what else to say. "Okay"  
  
Amy pulled up one of the overturned chairs across from him as Xander put the table upright. "After we did the spell. I was a little more than pissed at you."  
  
Xander nodded as he sat down. "Yeah, I can understand that."  
  
Amy felt the corners of her mouth tug into a small frown. "I'm being serious Xander. After the spell, I looked at some of my books. I was hurt. Everything that I felt during that time...it felt real. I wanted you to know what it was like."  
  
"Did you try the spell on me?"  
  
Amy gave Xander a look. Xander realized that he should be quiet. "Sorry."  
  
"Anyway, I came across a spell. It was supposed to invoke the Patron Saint of Scorned Women, Anyanka. When she came forward and told me some of the things that she could do to you, I lost my nerve."  
  
Xander shifted in his seat. "What do you mean?"  
  
Amy shook her head and sighed. "She had all sorts of ideas, evisceration, decapitation, castration, you get the idea, lots of 'ations.'"  
  
She looked down at her hands. "I told her that I didn't want that, but she was insistent. She told me that you had to be taught a lesson. I told her that she couldn't make me. Her only power was granting the wish of the person who granted it."  
  
She stiffened in her seat and stared him in the eye. "She said that its only right for you to feel pain after you caused pain in so many. It wasn't vengeance. It was justice."  
  
Xander shook his head. "But if you didn't go through with the wish, what does all this have to do with it?"  
  
"I didn't make a wish, Cordelia did."  
  
////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia put the keys in the ignition and looked up. The headlights illuminated the outline of the forest surrounding the lawn. In the forest she saw hundreds of dark yellow eyes staring back at her. 


	21. And Justice for All 6

-'And Justice for All.'-  
  
Pairings: Okay, okay, some X/C in here for you.  
  
A/N: This is the sequel to Enter Sandman, Sad But True, and Eye of the Beholder. Actions have consequences. Justice is served.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews. Sorry its been a while, I had to study for finals, a foundation exam, and get ready for the holidays and make a little trip, change my major, etc. But I'm back, so here you go.  
  
A/N 3: I've decided to change the name of this Fanfic series/story arc, whatever you want to call it, from "Enter Sandman" to "The Ecstasy of Gold" originally on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" soundtrack. On the S&M cd, it's got an incredible rendition of it. And listening to it, it fits with where I'm taking this.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Maybe I stole a little from S3 "The Wish." Kinda Sorta.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
Xander's face darkened. "What do you mean 'Cordelia did?'"  
  
Amy's face began to tear up. "She was hurt. Everyone left her and you were just getting taken back by everyone."  
  
Xander felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
Cordelia watched as a figure walked out of the darkness and into the car's headlights. Even through the demonic face, the ex-cheerleader recognized the demon. The blond vampire grinned and casually walked out of the forest surrounding the house.  
  
/////////////////////////////////  
  
The temperature in the room dropped significantly. Amy shook her head and cried. "She wished that you would know what it was like to lose everyone."  
  
Xander felt himself tense as he heard a faint honking sound from outside. "Do you hear that?"  
  
Amy shook her head before realization struck her. "The car."  
  
//////////////////////  
  
"Shit." Cordelia shifted the car into reverse and slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The transmission screeched in protest but quickly started backwards. She pounded the horn. *Honk* "Dammit, hear me!!" *Honk* *Honk* *Honk*  
  
The blond vampire grinned and ran to her sire.  
  
Angelus smirked as his forces poured out of the forest. After opening Alcatha, his numbers had swarmed, hundreds of Demons and vampires pledged their allegiance to him. He grinned as his favorite 'daughter' approached him. She wrapped her arms around him and purred into his chest. Angelus smiled down at her and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll be right after you, just leave me a snack."  
  
A low growl escaped his lips as she tore off in the direction of the house. He was so proud of his newest childe. A voice come from out behind him. "Daddy, You shouldn't be out here, the mean puppy is going to wet the carpet. And you don't have a newspaper."  
  
Angelus smiled as he turned to his other prized childe. "Dru, what are you doing here, I thought you were still playing with Spike's ashes."  
  
Drusilla pouted and scolded him. "Oh Daddy, I'm still mad with you taking my Spikey-poo. But everything has gone forwards and backwards, and forwards again. I shall have to wear pretty shoes to keep track of the months."  
  
Angelus's smirk faded. "What has gone forwards and backwards?"  
  
The insane vampire twirled around and started singing. "Forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards. The mad lady can pull forwards and backwards."  
  
Angelus grabbed her roughly by the arm. "Dru, I don't have time for this."  
  
Drusilla giggled and whispered into his ear. "The mean puppy took my kitten away. But the mad lady was angry with them both. She was sooo angry." She pulled back and grinned towards the house. "She wants to take them all away from us."  
  
///////////////////////////  
  
Xander felt a cool breeze ebbing in from the north. He looked out a crack of the windows  
  
Xander grabbed the Glocks that they had left on the counter. "Do we have anything else?"  
  
Amy shook her head as she grabbed a couple of stakes. "A couple of swords and a-a shotgun in the cupboard."  
  
Xander rushed forward to living room and grabbed a broadsword and the shotgun. He slung the shotgun over his shoulder and sheathed the sword into the side of his belt. He quickly grabbed a Glock before calling out over his shoulder. "Can you undo it?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Xander spun around and grabbed Amy by the shoulders. "Can you undo the freaking spell?!"  
  
Amy sputtered. "N-no, I can't the only one that can is Anyanka. But I can- can convince her to take it back."  
  
"How?"  
  
The look of terror on Amy's face withered away. Her eyes darkened. "I'll find a way."  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
The minions continued to stream out of the forest like a flood. Clusters were taken out by the mines only to be reinforced by twice the amount. They were but cannon fodder, only to be used to clear the defenses and distract the enemy while the higher lever demons and vampires followed in their wake.  
  
Cordelia was about twenty yard away from the front door when a mine hit the back left wheel and detonated. She braced herself as the car flipped over and skidded to a dead stop.  
  
Xander rushed out the front door and into the maelstrom. He saw the approaching swarm as a dark blanket slowly covering the grayed grass. His eyes burned a deep yellow as he ran towards the wreckage of the car.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Amy laid out several bags and bowls of various herbs and powders on the floor. She takes a handful of them and pours them slowly into a large golden goblet. The potion started to smolder as she began the ritual to summon Anyanka.  
  
"Oh... Anyanka... I-I beseech thee..."  
  
She closed her eyes and began to speak louder.  
  
"In the name of all women scorned..."  
  
The house began to shake with tremors as the ritual increased with power.  
  
"Come before me."  
  
She looked down at the floor with blackened eyes and screamed. "COME BEFORE ME!"  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander shot several smaller minions in the head as they rushed towards him. It wouldn't kill even the weakest vampires, but it would buy him time. He quickly approached the car and pulled on the door.  
  
"Goddammit."  
  
He pulled out the shotgun and shot the latch. Inside of the car was a broken and bleeding Cordelia. "Cor? CORDY? CAN YOU HEAR ME?"  
  
Cordelia chuckled, coughing up a little blood. "I can hear you geek-boy."  
  
He dropped the shotgun and pistol and quickly put one arm under her legs and the other around her shoulders. "Come on Cor, do you think I can m..."  
  
A pair of strong hands grabbed him from behind and threw him back onto the grass. Xander flew into the air and landed on his back with a resounding thud. He reached for his weapons. A voice interrupted the motions. "Are you looking for these Xand?"  
  
A vampire in the form of Buffy Summers smiled and held up a shotgun and a Glock. "I thought Cordy told you not to play with your toys in her car."  
  
Xander slowly crab walked backward. "Buffy."  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
Amy's face contorted in pain. The ritual continued to increase in power. She strained for breath as she fell to her knees. Her eyes began to get lighter and clearer. She spoke in a low weak voice. "Come before me."  
  
//////////////////////////////////  
  
The blond vampire threw the guns to the side and reached into the car with one arm while still facing Xander. She pulled out the limp form of Cordelia and held it up by the neck. "After a while, I put two and two together and figured out that _you_ were the one that was cutting off the vamps numbers. Ooh, you have no idea how much that pissed me off."  
  
She grinned and morphed into game face. "Angel and I thought that since you got out of the hospital we should try and find all of you for a little visit."  
  
Hundreds of minions and demons began to circle them, she grinned as they slowly started to inch closer and closer to where they stood. "I invited a couple of people."  
  
Xander got up and raised his sword. "Shut up."  
  
Buffy smirked and started to squeeze on Cordelia's neck. "I could do anything to her right now. I can make her scream." She twisted her hand a little eliciting a whimper from the ex-cheerleader.  
  
Xander snapped and began to run forward. Buffy snapped Cordelia's neck and let her body slump to the ground. "I can make her die."  
  
The minions rushed and assaulted Xander. The sword was broken from his grip and he was thrown against the ground and beaten mercilessly.  
  
Buffy the Slayer Vampire grinned. "I love reunions."  
  
////////////////////////////////  
  
Amy fell onto her side. Her breath began to shorten.  
  
"Come before me."  
  
She strained herself as she crawled back towards the potions.  
  
"Come...before...me."  
  
She felt the last few embers of her magic and her life wither away into the pool of power that she had invoked.  
  
"Come...be...fore...."  
  
She looked back up into the demonic visage of Anyanka who smiled at her and kicked her side with her foot, making her roll over.  
  
The demon bent down and whispered into her ear. "I had no idea her wish would be so exciting! Brave New World. I hope she liked it."  
  
Amy's eyes stilled as her last breath was taken. Anyanka stood up and dusted herself off before walking out. "Thanks for the tip."  
  
///////////////////////////////////////  
  
Halls of justice painted green Money talking Power wolves beset your door Hear them stalking Soon you'll please their appetite They devour Hammer of justice crushes you Overpower  
  
The ultimate in vanity Exploiting their supremacy I can't believe the things you say I can't believe, I can't believe the price you pay Nothing can save you  
  
Justice is lost Justice is raped Justice is gone Pulling your strings Justice is done Seeking no truth Winning is all Find it so grim, so true, so real  
  
Apathy their stepping stone So unfeeling Hidden deep animosity So deceiving Through your eyes their light burns Hoping to find Inquisition sinking you With prying minds  
  
The ultimate in vanity Exploiting their supremacy I can't believe the things you say I can't believe, I can't believe the price you pay Nothing can save you Justice is lost Justice is raped Justice is gone Pulling your strings Justice is done Seeking no truth Winning is all Find it so grim, so true, so real  
  
Lady Justice has been raped Truth assassin Rolls of red tape seal your lips Now you're done in  
  
Their money tips her scales again Make your deal Just what is truth, I cannot tell Cannot feel  
  
The ultimate in vanity Exploiting their supremacy I can't believe the things you say I can't believe, I can't believe the price we pay Nothing can save us  
  
Justice is lost Justice is raped Justice is gone Pulling your strings Justice is done Seeking no truth Winning is all Find it so grim, so true, so real  
  
Seeking no truth Winning is all Find it so grim, so true, so real  
  
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1988 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved 


	22. Master of Puppets 1

-'Master of Puppets.'-  
  
Pairings: Vampire B/A/Dru, implied vamp B/X and Dru/X. Hints of F/X eventually.  
  
A/N: 5th in the "Ecstasy of Gold" series. Master of Puppets is pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Be warned, this part is very dark.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews. And as for Faith and Kendra, assume that the watchers wanted a slayer they could keep a better handle on, so they sent Faith to 'take care of' Angelus and Buffy. Kendra is still off somewhere fighting the good fight. And I've got a lot going on this week, so probably no more until the weekend. Sorry.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Hell on Earth. And I'm stealing more from S3's "The Wish."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
Faith watched the road pass her by. Not much had changed in the last few months or so. Not for her really. Just switched one version of hell for another. The driver of the car turned around. "Faith, is there something the matter?"  
  
"Nah Wes, just thinking."  
  
"Oh."  
  
In truth Wes wasn't that bad of a guy, Faith reasoned, he just sucked at fighting and being anything other than overly British. But he was one of the few watchers left. And they were paired up to go 'fix the problem' in California. She would have rather had Kendra along for the ride, but Travers said that they needed her in reserve 'in case the worst were to happen.'  
  
She chuckled. 'The worst that could happen.' Like life is a bowl of cherries right now.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay Faith?"  
  
She sighed and looked over next to her. Wes had his glasses on, staring at the road. He made a big whole deal about her not being old enough to drive. Yeah, like the cops were going to pull them over.  
  
"Just peachy Wes. How much longer till the big ol' vampathon we got going on?"  
  
Wes sighed as the sun began to set. "Well, I believe that-that the Hellmouth, which is situated in the city of Sunnydale, or rather under the city of Sunnydale..."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "I meant like in miles or hours or something Wes, not in boring lectures."  
  
"Faith! As I'm sure you've been told hundreds of times, the entire West Coast of the America's is under demonic rule, the rest of the Western Hemisphere is falling, it is only a matter of time until the demons are to spread to the rest of the world. It is our sworn and sacred duty to stop this from happening."  
  
"And how are we supposed to stop it when even the incredible Mr. Giles and amazing Buffy Summers, couldn't?"  
  
Wes shook his head. "I do not know, but we must try."  
  
He turned back to the road and turned on the headlights. A little girl stood in the middle of the street.  
  
"Wes, Look out!"  
  
The car swerved out of control, barely missing the small child. The car skidded to a full stop twenty yards down the road. "You okay Wes?"  
  
The watcher's air bag had deployed although he looked a little dazed. "I..."  
  
He was interrupted when the car door was pulled open and he was yanked out.  
  
Faith reached for her seatbelt. "Shit."  
  
Faith jumped out of the car and knocked the vampire away from Wes. The vamp smirked and charged the slayer. She lifted her leg and smashed her heel into its abdomen. Faith readied her stake and slammed it into the child's chest. The vampire shifted back into its human form. The child's face looked back at her in innocent terror as it turned to ash. Wesley ran up to her. "Are you okay Faith?"  
  
The brunette slayer simply turned around and walked to the car. "Five by five."  
  
They both got back into the car. Faith looked out the window seeing the purple haze finish its retreat from the night sky.  
  
"Just five by five."  
  
/////////////////////////////////////  
  
Drusilla smiled as Angelus entered the room. Even after all these years, even when the 'not-Daddy' came and took her Daddy away from her, when he regaled her with a smile it was like a fire was lit inside her. She was so wanted and loved. Sure, Spike had helped, Spike was always there to make her feel loved, but Daddy took Spike away. She fingered the small locket that she put some of Spikes ashes in. Naughty Daddy took away her Spike and used most of the ashes as a litter box. But she was able to keep some of it.  
  
Her grin turned into a scowl as she saw Daddy's new daughter come over to him and rub against him. That Buffy was no good. She was sure of it. The bad slayer made the 'not-Daddy' go away, but now he wouldn't pay any attention to _her_. She started to whimper to herself. Daddy never wanted to play with her anymore. Suddenly she got an idea and ran over to Angelus.  
  
"Can I play with the puppy?"  
  
Angelus rolled his eyes. "What have I been saying Dru? If you keep on breaking your toys, you can't enjoy them for long."  
  
Drusilla shook her head. "But I haven't broken him Daddy, I promise."  
  
Buffy smirked. "You mean _I_ haven't broken him, _yet_"  
  
"The puppy was sooo good when we made Miss Edith some green eggs and ham."  
  
Buffy laughed. Angelus leered at his blond childe. "I thought I told you to keep the Dr. Seuss books away from her."  
  
Buffy grinned mischievously. "I had nothing to do with it."  
  
The master vampire turned back to his elder childe and held out a set of keys. "Sure Dru, just make sure you clean up after him this time. It was really hard for the minions to clean up the stains yesterday."  
  
The insane vampire grinned and snatched the keys from her sire's hand. "Ohh I promise Daddy. I promise that I'll be good."  
  
Angelus smirked. "No Dru, be just the opposite, do your worst."  
  
Drusilla squealed and ran away.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Drusilla frowned playfully as she walked into the basement of the Bronze. "Bored now."  
  
She stilled and waited for an answer. After a second she continued walking. She stopped at a wall with whips, chains and other instruments of torture hanging peacefully.  
  
"Daytime's the worst." She ran a hand over her black leather outfit. "Miss Edith and I get cooped up for hours. Can't hunt."  
  
She looked at all of the items before taking a pair of iron shears. She walked over to a cell in the corner of the room. She took the shears and clinked it along the bars.  
  
Drusilla smiled and nodded her head. "But the Daddy said I could play. Oh you like it when we play. I know you do."  
  
Again the silence was her only reply.  
  
She wistfully looked up at the ceiling. "You make sure wonderful noises when we play."  
  
Inside the figure began to stir.  
  
Drusilla grinned and looked back into the cell. "I cant wait to play today. Miss Edith told me all sorts of new games we can play. I can be the top hat and you can be the shoe. Doesn't that sound like fun, Puppy?"  
  
The figure raised a hand and gave her the middle finger salute as its answer.  
  
"Oooh, that's a bad, naughty, feisty puppy."  
  
She unlocked the cell door and swung it in.  
  
"Mommy likes it when you're feisty."  
  
The vampire walked along the inside of the cell. She waits for an answer. After a couple of seconds she walks a little closer "Aw... Puppy's being all quiet. Come on. Don't be a spoilsport."  
  
She lunged and the figure and slams him chest first against the floor. He resisted a little but was chained to the floor and walls. The man groaned as she straddled him. She grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head up.  
  
Xander coughed up some spit and a little blood and spoke softly. "Damn Dru, is deadboy still not giving you the news?"  
  
Drusilla frowned and ran the tips of the shears down along his chin and his throat. "Soo sad, Daddy used to play all the time. He used to play with you too, I miss him, but he's always with that bad horrible Buffy."  
  
Xander coughed some more. "Yeah, I'm just crying away the time."  
  
Drusilla smiled. "Aww my poor puppy, I know what'll cheer you up!"  
  
She licked him from the base of his ear to his forehead and ran her sharp fingernails along his neck.  
  
She grinned and threw his head forcefully back onto the floor. "You remember I told you about Daddy's plans? About how we are going to swim over the pond and bring everyone in the world some happy coats?"  
  
She flipped him over onto his back and straddled his stomach. He let out a painful moan.  
  
Drusilla smiled seductively. "That's right, Puppy... Mommy's gonna make you bark."  
  
He cried out when she ripped open his shirt to reveal several very deep and bloody wounds on his chest. She touched them softly. "Oh... Perhaps Mommy went too hard on you last time."  
  
A voice interrupted Drusilla's rantings. "Too hard? No such thing."  
  
Drusilla turned back. Buffy walked into the faint lighting of the room. "Oh hello, did you want to join our tea party?"  
  
Buffy grinned and leaned up against the bars from the outside. "Yeah, I know how much you like to share."  
  
Drusilla growled and squeezed on Xander's arm. Xander cried out in pain. Dru smiled sheepishly and turned back to him. "Sorry Puppy, Mommy got a little distracted."  
  
She squeezed his arm even harder. Xander screamed. Drusilla smiled. "That's better."  
  
She turned back around to Buffy. "Did you want to go first? He's a bad puppy, always wetting the carpet."  
  
Xander's voice meekly peeked through. "Well, maybe if you let me out every now and..."  
  
Drusilla frowned. "Bad Puppy. Shush!"  
  
Buffy smiled and walked into the cell. Drusilla stood up and walked over to her. "Why not? Its been a while since I've let you have any fun, now hasn't it Xander?"  
  
The only surviving Scooby crawled as far back as he could as the two vampires walked into the darkness of his cell. 


	23. Master of Puppets 2

-'Master of Puppets.'-  
  
Pairings: Vampire B/A/Dru, implied vamp B/X and Dru/X. Hints of F/X possibly.  
  
A/N: 5th in the "Ecstasy of Gold" series. Master of Puppets is pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Be warned, this part is very dark.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews. And I know that this is getting darker as it progresses, and you know what they say, it's darkest before the dawn. But its also darkest when there's no dawn also come to think of it... oh well. Not any of Faith and Wesley's road trip for right now. You can look forward to it in the next installment. I've got a lot going on this week, so probably no more until next weekend. Sorry.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Hell on Earth. And I'm stealing more from S3's "The Wish."  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
Xander sat alone in his cell. Motionless. Restless. Staring at the same dark spot on the other side of the room. It captured his imagination. The only light in the room was just outside his cell and what Drusilla called the 'happy rack.'  
  
Xander looked over to where the rack sat on the wall and cringed. He shook his head and looked down at his feet.  
  
Still, something about the other side of the room always captured his imagination. He turned his face up and stared at the darkness with curiosity. What was on the other side? Was there even another side to this damned room? Would there be another set of torture instruments, another cell, or the bodies of his dead friends? Oh the excitement never ended.  
  
He sighed and continued boring a hole into the darkness with his eyes. It would be feeding time in a while. He hoped Ed would bring his food this time. All of the other minions would make fun of him, taunt him, and yell at him, while he ate his food. Ed would just give him his food, stand over by the door, and wait until he's done.  
  
He rubbed his face and lay back down. He needed to do something new today. Something to keep his brain occupied. Every time that his mind wandered images would flash through his head.  
  
-Giles' beaten and mutilated body.-  
  
-Cordelia's lifeless eyes as her body slumped to the ground.-  
  
-Buffy's face as she vamped out from pleasure.-  
  
-Angelus' smirk watching from the near left corner of the room the first time he let the two vampires 'play' with him.-  
  
Xander shook his head and started beating on his temples. The images burned into his brain continued to play out one by one.  
  
He had to think of something. Something new, something new. What had he done already?  
  
He squeezed his eyes shut and started concentrating. He had every inched of his cell memorized and mentally recounted everything. He had twenty-seven rungs on each chain that connected his wrists to the wall and eighteen rungs for the chains on his ankle. There were a total of one hundred and fifty-eight vertical bars on his cell separated by three horizontal...  
  
"Human, your food is ready."  
  
Xander snapped out of his count and looked over at the doorway. A large baldheaded vampire walked over to his cell in game face with a tray of food. The vampire unlocked the door placed the tray a few inches inside.  
  
"Eat."  
  
Xander sighed, knowing where this was going. "I can't reach that far."  
  
The vampire rolled his eyes and pushed the tray an inch further into the cell. Xander raised his eyebrows and sighed, "Scared of little old' me?"  
  
The vampire growled. "Watch your tongue filthy meat bag. Master Angelus has ordered that no one lay a hand on you."  
  
Xander groaned and started picking up his food. "I guess no one told Buffy and Dru."  
  
The vampire cracked his knuckles and bared his fangs. "Do you _want_ to die?"  
  
Xander shrugged his shoulders. "Not really, but its better than the alternative."  
  
The vampire growled and snapped out his hand at the sixteen-year-old's neck. "If it were not for my loyalty to my sire, you would be in a boneless heap at my feet."  
  
Xander grinned and latched on to the vampires arm with his hands. "I'll have to thank old fang-face next time I see him."  
  
The vampire's face dropped as Xander twisted the undead creature's arm around and flung him to the ground. The vampire growled and charged the human. Xander pulled back his arm and had one thing to say before he went to work. "Tell them to send Ed next time."  
  
/////////////////////////////////////  
  
Angelus frowned as he saw two of his lieutenants pull a minion before him and dropped the vampire at his feet. Angelus dismissed them with a wave of his hand and looked down upon the minion. "I thought I told you better James."  
  
James lifted his head up, revealing multiple bruises and cuts along his face. His left eye was completely swollen shut. "I am sorry master."  
  
Angelus got up from his throne and walked down to where the minion kneeled. He smirked as he walked around the pledgeling. "I gave you my orders not to touch the human and yet you did. Why is that?"  
  
James shuffled on his knees. "The human, sire, he..."  
  
"IS ONLY HUMAN!" Angelus grabbed James by the neck and lifted him into the air. His cold eyes burned as he watched the fear in the young vampire. "You are a VAMPIRE, a CREATURE of the NIGHT. They are our FOOD! Are you saying that FOOD beat you?"  
  
James couldn't manage a response as Angelus squeezed his throat tighter. The Master vampire smirked and dropped him to the floor. The minion rubbed his throat. "It will not happen again Master Angelus."  
  
The master vampire turned around to watched the dust settle from James' remains. "I guess it wont."  
  
Buffy smiled as the dust settled infront of her. "Aww, is the help bothering you again Angel?"  
  
Angelus vamped out backhanded Buffy across the face. "NEVER CALL ME THAT NAME!"  
  
Buffy smiled as a droplet of blood ran down her cheek. She slowly wiped it off with her index finger and carefully caressed her lips with it. "Mmnn, harder baby, you know how I like it."  
  
Angelus shook his head and smiled. "Buffy, how many times do I have to tell you...Don't...." Angelus punched her in the chest.  
  
"Call."  
  
Buffy grinned in pain and ecstasy as she bent over from the blow.  
  
"Me"  
  
The Master vampire grabbed her hair tightly and pulled her into his chest.  
  
"ANGEL!"  
  
The blond vampiress grinned as the blood smeared her lips from the impact. Her eyes danced hungrily and forcefully as she kissed her sire. In the background a lone figure walked back into the darkness.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Drusilla sat on the bed and played with her dolls. Nobody else wanted to play with her. Daddy and the naughty girl were off somewhere having fun without her. The minions were a little restless since Daddy punished the puppy's new friend.  
  
She sighed wistfully thinking about her puppy. He was the only one that would play with her when no one else would. He would sit and stay and do all of the wonderful tricks that a good puppy should do. Oh she really wanted to play with the puppy. But he was being such a bad boy, hurting one of Daddy's babies like that. She giggled as a small voice began whispering to her.  
  
"Oh Miss Edith, that's such a naughty thing to say."  
  
Drusilla's frown etched into a grin as Miss Edith told her some new tricks she could teach her brown-eyed puppy. She would always be a good little girl and listen to what Miss Edith told her. Miss Edith liked the puppy too. She would always say when the puppy needed a little lesson or when the puppy was being a bad little thing.  
  
Drusilla sighed. There was only one thing wrong with the puppy. The puppy wasn't Daddy.  
  
Miss Edith nodded and smiled. No one could take the place of her Daddy. No one could take her Daddy from her, not even the horrible Buffy person. Daddy would get tired of her soon enough. She should just play with the puppy for now.  
  
After all, she did like the noises he could make.  
  
Drusilla smiled. "Oooh, Miss Edith, do you wish you could play with the puppy?"  
  
Miss Edith only bared a steel wire of a smile. No, it was just fun enough watching her play with the puppy.  
  
Silence ensued for several seconds as Drusilla looked into the eyes of her small brown haired doll.  
  
"I really do miss my Daddy Miss Edith, the puppy _is_ fun, but I wish I had my Daddy back."  
  
Drusilla smiled in wonder as the lovely Miss Edith told her about the shape of things to come.  
  
///////////////////////////////////  
  
Xander sighed and looked back into the darkness of the other half of the room. The darkness was his only real friend left he supposed. It didn't ask anything of him. It listened to him as he yelled and screamed at it for the first few months. It watched him and felt sad with him when he couldn't take any more of the beatings, of the torture. He found an odd comfort in the darkness.  
  
"Well, I guess it's just you and me again."  
  
Xander chuckled as he realized what he was doing and put his head in his hands. "Oh God, I'm talking to myself."  
  
A small voice from inside the darkness whispered back. "You're not talking to yourself if someone's really there."  
  
Xander shot up like a bullet and growled into the darkness. "Who's there?!"  
  
He looked back and forth across the room. "Come on, show yourself!"  
  
Silence ensued for several minutes as Xander stared at the Darkness.  
  
"Hello?!"  
  
And the Darkness stared back. 


	24. Master of Puppets 3

-'Master of Puppets.'-  
  
Pairings: Vampire B/A/Dru, implied vamp B/X and Dru/X. Hints of F/X possibly eventually.  
  
A/N: 5th in the "Ecstasy of Gold" series. Master of Puppets is pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Be warned, this part is very dark.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: Sorry about the wait, But I got bit by a brown recluse, couldn't get around, got shot up with happy sleepy drugs and antibiotics for about two weeks or so, and then Spring Break came and well, you know how real life keeps you from the keyboard.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Hell on Earth.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
//////////////////////////  
  
"Faith, I believe that maybe I should take you up on your offer."  
  
The brunette slayer purred and rubbed her hand on the Englishman's shoulder. "Why Wes, I thought you said it was improper."  
  
The car swerved on the road as Wesley was able to regain control of his motor functions. "No-nnn-not THAT offer!"  
  
Faith pouted and whispered into his ear. "Aww come on."  
  
The car screeched to a stop and Wesley pushed his hormonal charge off of him. "I meant to say that I've been driving since dawn and I need to rest a minute. Would you mind taking over driving for a bit?"  
  
Faith grinned evilly. "Why Wes, why didn't you say so?"  
  
Wes glared daggers at the young girl. "Faith, this is neither the time nor the place for such foolish and childish antics. You are the slayer, you are to act accordingly and respect your elders."  
  
Faith remained quiet and stared off down the highway. "You done yet Wes? We need to get going, we only got a couple more hours of light out."  
  
Wesley put his hand on her shoulder. "Faith, I know that I might not have be the best company on this endeavor..."  
  
"_That's_ a mild understatement."  
  
"...But I need to know I can trust you. I need you to trust me in return. We are in this situation together. The Watchers have given us this duty because we are the only ones that can handle it, no one else."  
  
Faith groaned her acceptance and looked out of the window. Wesley sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Do you have the map?"  
  
The brunette slayer nodded in response.  
  
The watcher sighed and put his forearms on the steering wheel as Faith handed it to him. "We should be only another day's worth of travel from the city of Sunnydale. We should probably look for another deserted gas station or another car soon enough because I do believe that we only have half a tank left."  
  
Faith only stared out the window and waited for the Englishman to finish talking.  
  
Wesley opened the map and verified their position. "Yes, probably another day or so, we should find a secluded place away from the main city and rest up there while we gather information. Do you agree Faith?"  
  
The slayer didn't respond.  
  
"Faith?"  
  
Wesley sighed and took off his glasses to speak with his young friend.  
  
"Faith. I need you to be serious and talk to me. If we ever are to have a chance of..."  
  
Faith mumbled something unintelligible and undid her seatbelt before exiting the passenger side door.  
  
Wesley sighed and got out of the car to switch positions. He had noticed Faith's reluctance to communicate unless it was either for him to get out of her way or to make him extremely...uncomfortable. Wesley shook his head trying to get the images of the last time Faith had found it funny to try and seduce the elder watcher.  
  
The young woman had a hard upbringing and seldom listened to authority. Now just to throw her into the maelstrom on the North American continent and expect her to defeat Angelus was mildly preposterous to say the least.  
  
He hunched into the passenger seat and adjusted it for his legs. He looked over to his slayer to find her holding a predatory smirk as she gripped the steering wheel.  
  
"Hey Wes?"  
  
"Yes Faith?"  
  
"You got your seatbelt on?"  
  
"Of course, why?"  
  
Faith raised her eyebrows non-committally as the engine roared to life.  
  
"No reason."  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Buffy smiled as the golden streams of light surrounded her body. The warm rays soothed and caressed her skin. The sensual heat from the sun brought her moaning to a low growl. The flames danced alongside her waist and ran kisses down her spine. Suddenly the light turned hard, solid. She could feel them eat away at dead flesh. Small amounts of ash softly sprinkled down to the floor as she danced in the sunlight. She fell to the floor as the rays of light grew brighter and brighter. She screamed out in pain as she felt her body wither away. She cried out for Angelus. She cried out for her master, her sire.  
  
A small shadow peered over her and covered her from the light's punishment. She smiled as the pain receded and her body called out in near ecstasy from the relief of the golden flames.  
  
Two frozen brown eyes stared accusingly down at her prone form.  
  
"You're going to die and I'm going to be there."  
  
She screamed in pain as she felt the stake plunge into her chest.  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
Angelus groaned in pleasure as Alcatha called out to him. The statue stood infront of him pulsating with power. It was barely noticeable to the naked eyes. The shifted breeze swirled around the statue felt as a stale wind. It was subtle and unique. The low roll of raw magic that emanated from the statue fed through his own vampiric demon, making the demon inside Angelus snap at the bit, reaching for more.  
  
The demon that had slept inside the statue was no longer dormant. When the hell dimension slipped out onto the next, the small slivers of power awoke a small part of the demon. Angelus had summoned the great Alcatha's power, but not the demon Alcatha himself. With each passing hour, with each passing day, the demon grew stronger. As he dropped to his knees from the euphoria a high-pitched scream careened through the halls. Angelus opened his eyes revealing pitch-black irises.  
  
"Buffy."  
  
/////////////////////////////////////////////////  
  
"Your turn."  
  
The vampire known simply as 'Ed' gave his counterpart a condescending glare.  
  
The vampire in charge of the minions rolled his eyes.  
  
"Don't even, just go and feed the damned creature. Master Angelus wants the filthy thing alive. And for some reason it takes a preference to you."  
  
Catcalls and whistling erupted from the other various minions in the area. It was considered a punishment to have to feed the lowly human. To regularly be assigned the task was an insult. Ed merely grabbed the tray of food and walked down to the cellar of the mansion, but it was his sire's wish that he personally do it after the last couple of minions assigned the task weren't...compatible with the lowly job.  
  
He really loved his sire. He had been lucky and fortunate that Mistress Drusilla had chosen him. But for some reason, there were only a few of her childes most of the minions were either from Mistress Buffy or Master Angelus himself. The two of them had killed and turned hundreds since Master Angelus had first turned Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The two of them together were and incredible force to be reckoned with. His sire, Drusilla had only been a footnote in their success. He rarely even saw his mistress. But when he did, she would reward him with a smile and a quick pat on the head before skipping away.  
  
If only she hadn't cut out his tongue, he would profess his undying loyalty to her.  
  
She told him that it was necessary that one should never tell a secret that doesn't belong to him...  
  
Lest the penguins eat his entrails.  
  
He did not believe that penguins would come to Southern California simply for that reason, but he still never questioned his Mistress.  
  
As he reached the door that lead to the cells, he heard hushed whispers. Believing it to be another prisoner that had arrived, he rolled his eyes and made a mental note to check to see whether or not Master Angelus wanted this one fed or simply killed.  
  
Ed hadn't killed anyone in a while.  
  
As he turned the doorknob the whispers ceased. The creaking sound of the door itself was usually enough to make the human cop out some indulgent remark, but as he walked in only silence greeted his ears.  
  
As he walked to the cell the human occupied, he saw the pitiful being crouched in a corner crouched into a tight ball with his knees brought up to his chest and his hands covering his ears.  
  
Ed furrowed his brow and kicked the cell bars.  
  
The human looked up and immediately tried to scurry back some more, but looked up at the tall black vampire.  
  
"Oh, hi Ed."  
  
Ed breathlessly growled at the 'familiarity' that the boy showed towards him, but convinced himself to ignore it as he placed the tray inside the cell door and kicked at back to the human without spilling any of the food.  
  
The human shook his head and tried to chuckle before grasping the few crumbs of bread.  
  
"That's why I like you Ed. You're smarter than the average blood sucker."  
  
Ed brought his upper lip into a menacing snarl but found it did not have the desired effect without the snarl itself.  
  
Ed stood by the door as the human ate. The mortal's eyes were continuously scanning the room, as if looking for someone. Ed raised his eyebrows and continued to watch the filthy insect eat.  
  
When he was done, the human slid the tray back to the front of the cell where Ed picked it up and began walking out the door.  
  
"Hey Ed."  
  
The human's small voice barely registered in the vampire's ears as he turned around and glared daggers at the creature for forcing him to stay there longer.  
  
"You wanna stay and chat for a while? I know a few good knock-knock jokes. Have you heard the one where..."  
  
Usually the human would say things like that in jest, trying to egg a response or simply annoy the vampire. Normally he would call for others and they would take turns beating the human for his insolence. Ed noticed a small amount of pleading registering behind the human's eyes as he continued to speak. The human tried to hide it well, but Ed smirked as turned around and exited the door. His smiled growing as the voice behind him began to quiet before the human gave up talking.  
  
Ed walked out the entrance and closed the door behind him. A small whisper floated under the door as he walked away.  
  
He smiled as he reached the stairs and walked up.  
  
Not his secret to tell. 


	25. Master of Puppets 4

-'Master of Puppets.'-  
  
Pairings: Vampire B/A/Dru, implied vamp B/X and Dru/X. Hints of F/X possibly eventually.  
  
A/N: 5th in the "Ecstasy of Gold" series. Master of Puppets is pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Be warned, this part is very dark.  
  
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.  
  
A/N 3: Sorry about the wait, but I'm getting married on August 7th causing chaos and anarchy to run rampant over the past month. And while I've worked on this story, as well as others, I haven't really been able to focus on writing and reviewing. Sorry. But because of the fact that someone left me a little email reminding me that I had finished this part and I'll be on my honeymoon soon, thereby decreasing the amount of time I can spend on this to zero, heres the next part.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.  
  
Timeframe: S2 AU. Hell on Earth.  
  
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.  
  
The demon formerly known as the vampire slayer lay in a pit of her own sweat. The red silken bed lay still in the middle of the room, dividing its occupants. The lieutenants in charge of security and the armies of Alcatha stood at attention on side of the bed in nervous silence. On the other side, the Master vampire of the West Coast growled menacingly. The vampires dared not look Angelus in the eyes. None tensed a muscle nor moved in fear of the swift retaliation.  
  
Angelus snarled and looked down upon the labored breathing of his childe speaking only three words. "Who did this?"  
  
One of his lieutenants opened his mouth to speak "Th-"  
  
Angelus suddenly appeared infront of his lieutenant and in a flash of motion held him high against the wall be the neck. "Was it you? Did you hurt her? NO-ONE hurts her!"  
  
The vampire grasped his sire's arm and struggled for air. "N-no, my sire, I- ."  
  
Angelus snarled and whispered into his ear. "Then speak quickly my childe, for time does not bode well for you."  
  
"The troops, my sire. They hear rumors, whispers that it was one of the demon lords."  
  
Angelus smirked and squeezed harder. "The demons follow Alcatha. Alcatha has chosen ME as its champion."  
  
The vampire interrupted, fearing for his life. "They do not believe that a vampire should be the champion of the demons. That we are weak. Tainted blood."  
  
"And what do these 'demon lords' call themselves?"  
  
"The Scourge, my sire."  
  
"What do you suggest we do then?"  
  
"A demonstration..."  
  
Angelus smiled and turned back to face his other lieutenants all of which still wisely kept their gazes forward and away from their master. "A demonstration, you say."  
  
The lieutenant gasped and pulled on Angelus' hand. "Yes, to show all of the demons that you are the vessel of Alcatha. That you are the one to lead the demons across the earth. Kill the leaders of the Scourge and show your true power."  
  
Angelus smiled and looked into his eyes. "And who are the leaders of the so called 'Scourge?'"  
  
The lieutenant felt the bones in his neck at the breaking point. "I-I don't know."  
  
The master vampire slowly regarded the being at his mercy. Suddenly the younger vampire dropped to the floor. Angelus pursed his lips and nodded. "Fair enough."  
  
The vampire wheezed and got to his knees. "Thank you sire."  
  
Angelus smiled and leaned down to help him up. "What was your name again?"  
  
The vampire smiled and nodded. "James, master."  
  
"Think nothing of it James."  
  
Angelus smirked as he watched the dust from James settle down to the floor. He put the stake back him his pocket and turned to face the rest of his lieutenants that were still standing at attention. "Find out who the Scourge is. I want their heads NOW!"  
  
The vampires nodded in unison and started walking out of the room. Angelus rested his hand upon one of his minions and smiled. "Jonathon. I need you to do something for me."

* * *

"But I can understand that. It didn't show what he wanted at all."  
  
A snort snuck out from the darkness of the cell as the vampire danced back and forth recounting her story.  
  
"Daddy had a vision."  
  
The other occupant of the room, a worn rag doll with its black hair in curls, looked past Drusilla's head as she relayed the events.  
  
"Oh yes I know, his visions aren't as fun as yours and mine." The vampiress pouted and shook her head. "Naughty Buffy. Daddy saw the naughty Buffy in a swirl of light and fire. And now..." Drusilla giggled and twirled around dancing and smiling. "Now the naughty Buffy is gone. Locked away in her dreams. Gone for all the world to see and hear. Gone for Daddy to play with."  
  
She cooed and hugged the doll. "He was so upset. I don't see why. The naughty Buffy is bad. Bad for Daddy, bad for us, bad for the little elves that take my shoes."  
  
The black haired doll sat limply in her arms as the insane vampire coddled her Miss Edith. "Oh yes Miss Edith I know how to make it better, but..." She huffed in disappointment and frowned. "Why do you say such foul things now Miss Edith. I swear you wont get any tea and cookies if you insist on saying such bad words."  
  
Drusilla smiled and continued talking for several minutes about all of the glorious things of the day until a small voice creaked out of the darkness.  
  
"Hey Drusilla?"  
  
The black haired vampire cocked her head to the side. It wasn't like to puppy to back unless she was playing with him. He usually kept very quiet while she ranted about her latest conversations with Miss Edith. Everyone else usually walked away, it was nice to have a captive audience once in a while. She knelt down with a concerned look on her face and held her face close to the iron bars. The young man inside the cell sighed and looked deep into the vampire's cold dark eyes.  
  
"How do you know that you're crazy?"  
  
Drusilla smiled and fought the urge to reach inside and pinch the poor boy's check. "Why does the puppy say such things, you're almost as bad as Miss Edith." The vampire smiled and held up her doll. "Isn't that right?"  
  
After several seconds of silence Drusilla frowned and turned back to her captive. "I guess she's being shy right now, she doesn't really like to talk to strangers."  
  
A small smile almost escaped Xander's lips as he realized the futility in the conversation. "Thanks Dru. Now I don't feel as bad."  
  
Dru returned his smile. "Do you know what Miss Edith says?"  
  
The last human alive for miles, save for the 'cows' that were being used to feed the undead armies sighed. "I believe the last thing was either 'when hell is full, the dead shall walk the earth' or 'there's no such thing as too much ketchup.'"  
  
"She says that I should leave you here."  
  
Xander's head immediately shot up to face the vampire. The word 'no' almost escaped his lips, but he forced the scream back down his throat into the dark pit of his stomach.  
  
Drusilla smiled and faced the doll, stroking its hair. "She says that it could be good for you. That you deserve to be alone for alllll of your sins."  
  
She turned to him in a blank stare and for an instant sounded almost lucid. "I don't know what could have happened to make Miss Edith so mad at the puppy. But I know what she is planning for you..."  
  
Xander shook his head and curled back up into a ball in the corner of his cell, preferring to remain the saner of the two beings in the room by taking himself out of the conversation.  
  
Drusilla frowned and placed a hand on her chest. "Oh, did I say something wrong puppy?"  
  
The human felt the familiar twinge in her voice and paled. Drusilla smiled as she felt the rag doll whisper into her ear. "You hear her don't you?"  
  
Xander froze as the cold words crept up upon him from across the room.  
  
"Miss Edith says that you can hear them now. You can hear their thoughts and fears."  
  
A single bead of sweat ran down the young boy's forehead as he slowly began to whisper. "Get out."  
  
"All of them. The Last shall be First and the First shall be Last. All in- between, above, and below. They dance around in bright colored corsets. Making the earth shiny and new."  
  
Xander felt his voice getting a little louder as the vampire continued to rant. "Get out."  
  
Drusilla smiled and caressed the face of the dark haired rag doll. "They cannot see it as we see it and that is why they talk to us. They want us to listen about the trees and sand, about how we-"  
  
"I SAID GET OUT!"  
  
The vampire turned up to see a yellow eyed Xander Harris inches from the iron bars of the cell door, straining against the chains tearing into his wrists and ankles. "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!!"  
  
The door to the room burst open with several minions rushing into the room. As they began to subdue the prisoner, one of Angelus' aides walked over to the vampiress.  
  
"Mistress Drusilla."  
  
The young vampire had heard rumors about the insane female master vampire. She was the topic of jokes and many idle conversations among the ranks. The insane childe of Angelus. The only dark stain on the great Master's history not counting the curse. Some had wished to merely kill the wench and be done with it, but harming any of Angelus' childes was an extremely dangerous offence punishable by death. Which was why he was sent. 'Reprimanding' the prisoner was simply an added bonus.  
  
The male vampire straitened himself and did his best to sound forceful. "Master Angelus has called for you."  
  
Drusilla smiled and sauntered over to the young minion. "Yes, Daddy wants to see if I've been a naughty little girl hasn't he? He wants to know what I know, what Miss Edith knows. Yes. Daddy would want to see us."

* * *

Angelus stood at the window of the mansion on the hill, overlooking the gathering army of demons and vampires. The cool night breeze flowed into the room, gently caressing the dark black curtains. Overall the hordes of darkness had come to pledge allegiance to Alcatha and its champion. The one that would lead the undead across the world of man and unleash the wrath of the demon Alcatha. Some came only to pledge their lives to Alcatha. Most came to pledge to Angelus himself. What the fools didn't realize was that they were one and the same.  
  
A voice from the door interrupted his musings.  
  
"Master Angelus."  
  
The master vampire snarled and turned around. "What?"  
  
The young minion had the intelligence to realize that he should have knocked before coming into the room. "You-"  
  
"Oh hush now, pretty boy, Daddy was just being a little grumpy."  
  
Angelus smirked as he saw Drusilla saunter around the minion, gently brushing her hand against the side of his face. The vampiress pouted and turned the minion's face to look at her. She pinched his cheek and sighed. "Oh he's so cute when he's scared."  
  
Angelus was not amused. "Drusilla..."  
  
She turned and smiled brightly at Angelus. "Can I give him to the puppy? It's been so long since the puppy had a treat."  
  
The master vampire of the west coast growled and stared his childe in the eyes. Forcing her to keep her ramblings to herself for the time being. He spoke to the minion. "You may leave us now."  
  
Jonathan decided to take his master's advice and leave.  
  
"Dru. Tell me what you know."  
  
Drusilla's expression became scared as she felt the demons Alcatha's power flow through her sire. "Daddy. I don't-"  
  
The candlelight in the room flickered slowly as the slowly breezing wind came to a halt. Drusilla resembled a deer in headlights as her sire slowly walked towards her. "I know that you know something. Dru."  
  
The female vampire smiled nervously and started to back away, her instinct for self-preservation winning out over her compulsion to talk. A small amount of heat emanated from Angelus as he walked closer to his frightened childe.  
  
"Alcatha must have done this for a reason. Tell me what it is."

* * *

Ed stood back in silence and watched as his mistress walked out of Angelus' bedroom and down the hall. Her feet barely touching the floor, she floated across the ground, while the rest of the vampires trudged upon the dirt and dust of the mansion. There had been screaming. He had heard it down the corridor and came running to his mistress' defense only to find that she was in Master Angelus' private room. That had been only seconds before Drusilla walked out of the room smiling broadly.  
  
Ed was a childe that truly and deeply loved his sire. He watched her at all possible times. He followed her around the mansion, staying in the shadows, watching from afar. But he always knew that she could tell the he was there. He dared say that he might know her better than Master Spike did when he was still around. But as the Mistress of Angelus walked by him without so much of a glance, he knew that it wasn't his sire.  
  
Ed growled in confusion and sadness as he slinked back into the shadows. The mute vampire would find what was wrong with his Mistress. 


End file.
